RAY'S  RECRUIT 


CAPTAIN    CHARLES  KING 


-'    •• 


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CAPTAIN    CHARLES    KING,   U.S.A. 

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<  Oh,  porter,  would  you  kindly  get  me  some  water?" 

Page  68. 


RAY'S    RECRUIT 


BY 


Captain  Charles  King,  U.S.A. 

AUTHOR    OF    "  THE    COLONEL*  S   DAUGHTER,"    '*  THE 
GENERAL'S  DOUBLE,"   ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 

j  \  *  i  L  \Ji 


1661 


PHILADELPHIA 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1898 


Copyright^  1897,  by^  J.  B.  Lippitfco^rx  COMPANY. 
Copyrighv>  1898,  by  jt*B*LiPFiNe(*TT  COMPANY. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

¥ 

PAGE 

"Oh,  porter,  would  you  kindly  get  me  some 

water?" Frontispiece 

For  a  moment  no  one  spoke 107 

Miss  Leroy  took  to  sitting  by  Hunter's  bedside    191 
Hunter  knelt,  and  sent  shot  after  shot  at  every 

flitting  form  he  saw 245 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

¥ 

PRELIMINARY. 
To  Mr.  Darcy  Hunter  Gray. 

DEAR  BOY,— As  foreshadowed  in 
my  last,  the  concern  has  gone  to 
smash  and  your  prospects  with  it. 
When  its  affairs  are  settled,  the  firm  of  Hunter, 
Bloom  &  Co.  will  have  enough  to  pay  its  funeral 
expenses,  and  that's  about  all.  What  I  have 
left  is  my  wife's,  who  will,  I  trust,  be  able  to 
support  me  until  certain  life  insurance  policies 
become  due,  out  of  which  she  can  reimburse 
herself,  through  my  dying,  for  the  cost  of  my 
living.  I'm  too  old  to  try  again, — too  sad  to 
care  much,  except  for  you. 

"Your  father  was  my  dear  friend,  your 
mother  my  beloved  sister.  When  he  died  I 
promised  him  I  would  be  a  father  to  you. 
When  she  died  her  last  words  were  a  plea  that 
I  should  be  good  to  her  boy.  I  accepted  both 
trusts,  Darcy,  and — betrayed  both. 

"  They  died  poor  :  I  was  rich.  They  would 
7 


RAY'S   RECRUIT 

have  had  you  learn  io  carve  your  own  career, 
and  I  loved  you  so  that  from  your  bright,  brave 
boyhood  you  were  spoiled  and  indulged  as 
my  own  son.  I  gave  you  the  best  I  had.  I 
balked  you  in  only  one  desire,  that  of  going  to 
West  Point.  Harvard,  London,  Paris,  Berlin, 
Vienna,  Rome,  and  the  Riviera  were  your  ed 
ucators.  I  planned  to  make  you  a  railway 
magnate  when  you  hadn't  learned  the  first 
principles  of  the  business.  I've  accustomed 
you  to  every  luxury, — to  a  life  of  careless  ease, 
to  be  a  dawdler  and  a  dilettante — isn't  that 
what  you  call  it  ?  I  counted  on  leaving  you 
rich,  and  I  leave  you  ruined.  The  self-re 
proach — the  misery  which  overcomes  me  as  I 
write  these  words,  no  words  can  tell  you. 

"I  know  what  you  would  write  and  say, — 
you  were  always  generous  ;  but,  Darcy,  don't 
write,  don't  come, — just  yet.  Wait  until  you 
get — the  next  news.  Wait  until 

"  However,  let  us  get  down  to  business.  Of 
course  you  and  Mrs.  Hunter  will  not  be  apt  to 
see  much  of  each  other.  She  will  mourn  me 
less  than  you  ;  and  you  more  than  I  deserve. 
The  very  little  nest-egg  your  mother  set  aside 
for  you  is  intact.  With  accrued  interest  it 
amounts  to  some  eleven  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  and  twenty  dollars.  You  have  no  debts 
to  speak  of,  have  you  ?  I've  paid  all  you  ever 
told  me  about,  twice,  I  think,  and  you  were 
always  frank  and  truthful.  That  little  sum, 
8 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

with  what  you  have  to  your  credit  in  the  Chem 
ical  and  over  there  with  you,  represents  the 
sum  total  of  your  fortune.  You  never  needed 
it  before,  and  so  I  never  happened  to  mention 
it  to  you. 

"  But  despite  your  defects  in  bringing  up, 
for  which  I  am  responsible,  you're  not  much 
worse  off  than  if  you'd  gone  into  the  army  (I 
hope  you've  outlived  that  lunacy,  as  you  did 
the  other  one  for — you  know),  and  can  now 
make  a  strike  for  yourself.  You  have  the  best 
of  health,  the  best  of  looks  (for  you  strongly 
resemble  your  uncle  as  he  was  at  your  age),  the 
best  of  education  for  any  purpose  that  isn't 
absolutely  useful,  and  there  is  nothing  that  I 
know  of  to  prevent  your  marrying  a  fortune  as 
I  did,  and  living  happy  ever  after — as  I  didn't. 

"  Don't  underrate  the  extent  of  my  collapse 
— Bloom  got  away  with  what  Wall  Street  left — 
or  of  my  love.  Thank  God  I  have  no  son  of 
my  own.  Thank  God  I've  only  you  to  kneel  to 
and  say,  Forgive  the  blind,  miscalculating,  but 
utterly  humbled  old  fellow  that ' ' 

But  here  the  eyes  of  the  man  seated  there 
by  the  dancing  waters  in  the  glad  April  sunshine 
grew  so  blind  with  tears  that  he  could  read  no 
more. 

Out  on  the  blue,  translucent  waves  the  white 

swans  were   paddling  to  and  fro,  dipping  for 

bread  tossed  by  the  lavish  hands  of  laughing 

children  and  their  white-capped  bonnes.     The 

9 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

flashing  oars  of  many  a  skiff  drove  through  the 
sparkling  waters,  sending  snowy  little  surges 
breaking  from  the  sharp,  white  prows.  Fairy 
yachts  and  swift  paddle-wheel  steamers  clove 
the  mirror  surface  farther  from  the  shore,  and 
tossed  the  creamy  foam  along  their  billowing 
wake.  Half-way  over  to  the  Savoy  shore, 
deep  in  the  shadow  of  the  mountains,  two 
white-winged  barques  seemed  wooing  the  fal 
tering  breeze,  for  not  a  leaf  was  stirring  in  the 
deep  green  foliage  that  shaded  the  path  along 
the  sea  wall.  Towering  high  aloft,  dazzling  in 
the  sunshine,  the  snow-seamed,  snow-capped 
crags  blinded  the  eye  with  their  radiance  as 
they  peered  down  into  their  own  reflections 
in  the  sombre  depths  at  their  shadowy  base. 
Away  to  the  eastward,  lovely  little  towns  and 
villages  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  vine-clad  slopes 
of  the  northern  shore,  while  here  and  there  a 
venerable  ruin — castle,  convent,  or  fortress — 
stood  sentinelled  in  bold  relief  on  some  pro 
jecting  height,  or  nestled  under  the  shoulder 
of  some  rocky  cliff,  close  to  the  water's  edge. 
Near  at  hand,  in  the  public  Place,  the  carrousels , 
thronged  with  children,  old  and  young,  were 
spinning  madly  to  the  reedy  melodies  of  some 
donkey-driven  organ.  Waltz,  galop,  and  mili 
tary  march  rioted  in  loud  rivalry,  and  a  group 
of  Italian  singers,  smiling  indomitably,  carolled 
"  Funiculi  Funicula"  in  nimble  opposition  to  a 
Tyrolean  band  quacking  like  noisy  ducks  in 
10 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

the  pavilion  at  the  water's  edge.  The  bell 
buttoned  page  of  the  Beau  Rivage  was  still 
darting  about,  distributing  letters  just  brought 
in  by  the  grinning  facteur,  ever  a-scent  for  tips, 
and,  having  still  three  or  four  undelivered  mis 
sives,  halted  in  front  of  the  American. 

"Pardon,  m'sieu',  but  —  ees  Mees  Lang- 
don ' ' 

' '  Up  at  the  billiard-rooms,  probably,  * '  was 
the  brusque  answer,  as  Mr.  Gray  turned  has 
tily  away  to  hide  the  suspicious  moisture  in  his 
eyes. 

"  But  no.  I  'ave  been  there.  I  'ave  letters 
for  her,  and  for  M'sieu'  Sm — eet." 

The  gloom  in  the  tall  American's  face  deep 
ened  perceptibly. 

' '  Over  yonder,  possibly, '  *  he  answered,  with 
a  sidewise  nod  of  the  head  towards  a  little 
arbor  "far  from  the  madding  crowd"  at  the 
eastward  edge  of  the  pretty  grounds ;  then 
turned  away,  impatient  of  further  inquiry. 
Some  men  were  chatting  eagerly  at  the  fountain 
as  he  passed.  One  of  them,  English  unmis 
takably,  hailed  him  jovially. 

"  Time  you  were  ready,  Gray.  You're  going 
to  Chillon,  of  course."  And,  with  a  true 
Briton's  deep  disdain  of  foreign  names,  he 
spoke  it  as  it  was  spelled. 

"No,"  was  the  answer;  "I'm  going  to 
cool  off." 

"Been  getting  a  red-hot  letter,  as  you  Yan- 
ii 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

kees  say,  I  suppose,"  the  Islander  went  on, 
impervious  to  satire. 

"That's  about  the  size  of  it,"  answered  Gray, 
without  halting.  Two  of  the  men  looked  after 
him  with  no  little  concern  in  their  eyes.  Others 
hailed  him  as  he  passed  them  by.  Gray  was  evi 
dently  popular.  A  woman,  in  billowing  laces  and 
a  parasol  chair,  smiled  largely  upon  him  as  he 
raised  his  straw  hat,  and  bade  him  pause,  but  pre 
vailed  not.  Two  younger  women,  in  trim  walk 
ing  attire,  nodded  coquettishly  and  said  it  was  the 
very  day  for  the  trip  ;  them,  too,  he  answered 
only  vaguely,  and,  with  a  far-away  look  in  his 
deep  blue  eyes,  he  passed  on  to  the  telegraph 
office,  and  the  group  of  smoking  men  broke  up. 

"  Something's  amiss  with  Gray,"  said  one  of 
the  party,  a  New-Yorker.  "  I'll  go  see." 

"  I  don't  see  what  there  was  in  the  size  of 
the  letter  to  upset  him,"  said  the  Englishman, 
unconscious  of  slang  that  was  not  Britannia 
ware.  "Gray's  a  good  sort,  though.  Could 
a  fellow  do  anything,  do  you  suppose  ?' ' 

But  the  pursuer  was  slow.  Seeing  him  com 
ing,  and  divining  his  object,  Mr.  Gray  slipped 
out  of  the  side  door,  dived  through  the  shrub 
bery  that  bordered  a  winding  drive-way  to  the 
west,  and  took  himself  off  through  the  crowded 
Place.  He  had  need  to  be  alone, — to  face  his 
changed  fortunes  fair  and  square. 

Twenty-five  years  old,  and  up  to  the  mid 
week  mail  from  America  he  had  never  known 

12 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

a  care  since  boyish  days,  unless  it  was  some 
momentary  heart-pang  when  Amy  Langdon 
proved  unkind.  In  a  dawdling,  amateurish  way 
he  had  read  the  daily  papers  and  signed  some 
letters  and  reports  laid  before  him  by  an  atten 
tive  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Eastern  traffic 
manager  of  a  great  road  of  which  his  uncle 
was  a  heavy  stockholder  and  prominent  di 
rector.  The  most  serious  thing  he  had  ever 
undertaken  was  his  membership  in  a  crack  city 
regiment,  wherein  he  had  served  through  the 
ranks  and  really  earned  a  commission.  But 
both  these  avocations  he  had  quitted  during  the 
previous  winter,  and  all  because  Amy  Langdon 
was  reported  flirting  dangerously  at  Nice  and 
Mentone,  and  if  she  were  not  actually  engaged 
to  Darcy  Gray  he  at  least  felt  so  far  engaged  to 
her  that  flirtation  was  denied  him. 

As  pretty  a  girl  as  ever  rode  in  Central  Park 
was  Amy,  and  as  dashing  a  horsewoman,  and 
it  was  Gray' s  admirable  riding  and  universally 
acknowledged  prospects  that  made  him  for  the 
time  so  acceptable  a  parti.  He  could  manage 
a  horse  far  better  than  he  could  a  woman,  how 
ever,  and  Miss  Langdon  kept  him  at  her  side 
when  in  saddle  and  subject  to  call  at  all  other 
times.  But  she  had,  not  unkindly,  laughed  off 
his  protestations  and  dissected  his  offers.  "It's 
absurd,  Darcy.  You  haven't  a  cent  in  the  world 
that  doesn't  come  from  your  uncle,  and  who 
knows  what  his  wife  will  do  with  his  fortune, — 
13 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

or  he  himself,  for  that  matter  ?  As  for  me,  I'm 
a  beggar  with  social  aspirations.  Come,  be 
sensible,  and  I'll  like  you  better.  Be  a  soldier, 
Darcy,  and  face  the  facts.  That' s  the  one  thing 
you're  cut  out  for." 

"You're  hard-hearted,  Amy,"  he  had  an 
swered. 

"No;  only  hard-headed.  I'm  soft-hearted 
enough  to  like  you  too  well  to  spoil  both  our 
lives." 

Gray  believed  himself  much  in  love  when 
she  went  abroad  in   November,   and   took  it 
much  to  heart  that  she  should  be  so  constantly 
attended  by  Fred.  Smythe,  who  had  no  atom 
of  sense  in  his  head,  but  no  end  of  dollars  in 
his  pocket.     But  when  a  lordling— a  younger 
son   of  an   older   house   than   ever  dwelt  in 
Gotham— an  Honorable,  between  whom  and 
the  title  and  estates  was  a  lord  with  only  one 
lung  and   that   fast   going— had  opposed   his 
sighs   to   those   of    Smythe,   and   there   came 
rumors  that  Locksley  Hall  was  to  be  enacted 
over  again  with  an  American  Amy  in  the  fore 
ground,  Darcy  Gray  believed  it  time  to  rush 
for  the  Riviera,  and  a  worried  old  uncle  most 
unwillingly  let  him  go.     Hunter  loved  that  boy, 
his  sister's  son,  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.    There 
wasn't  anything  he  wouldn't  have  given  him 
but  the  means  of  earning  his  own  living.     All 
that  he  proposed  to  settle  magnificently.     But 
the  bottom  began  to  drop  out  of  the  market  in 
«4 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

mid- January,  and  left  him  stranded  high  and 
dry  by  the  middle  of  May.  Two  million  dol 
lars,  said  Wall  Street,  had  "gone  where  the 
woodbine  twineth." 

Over  beyond  the  hurly-burly  of  the  public 
Place,  crowded  with  townfolk  and  children,  the 
road-way  wound  along  the  water's  edge  Gray 
strode  rapidly  westward,  his  head  bowed,  his 
hands  thrust  deep  in  his  trousers-pockets.  He 
missed  his  usual  companions,  a  heavy  stick 
and  a  nimble  fox-terrier,  but  both  had  been 
left  with  the  portier  as  inappropriate  to  a 
voyage  to  Chillon.  They  were  to  have  started, 
a  merry  party  it  promised  to  be,  by  the  early 
boat  from  Geneva,  and  he  could  see  her  now 
cleaving  the  limpid  waters  around  the  headland 
of  Merges.  It  was  time  to  warn  his  compan 
ions  that  he  could  not  go.  One  girl,  at  least, 
might  miss  him,  and  she  should  be  accorded 
opportunity  to  name  some  other  escort,  Amy, 
— "Amy,  shallow-hearted."  She  had  disap 
peared  with  that  brainless  ass  half  an  hour  ago, 
possibly  to  console  him  for  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  one  of  the  dozen  bidden  by  Madame  la  Com- 
tesse  to  be  of  the  party  to  voyage  with  her  to 
the  famous  castle,  breakfast  with  her  aboard 
La  France,  and  dine  en  fete  at  Montreux. 
Vane,  the  Briton,  was  one,  and  small  comfort 
did  he  afford  Smythe  by  bidding  him  jolly  up, 
and  perhaps  Madame  would  let  him  in  for 
post-prandial  coffee  at  Montroo. 
15 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

Gray  had  never  been  able  to  stomach 
Smythe  ;  he  called  him  an  insupportable  cad ; 
but  when,  at  a  turn  in  the  path,  he  came  sud 
denly  upon  the  combination  of  brainless  ass 
and  insupportable  cad  squatted  on  a  stone, 
elbows  on  knees,  his  fuzzy  jowls  deep  sunken 
in  his  hands,  his  eyes  on  the  far-away  line  of 
the  Savoy  shore,  the  intruder  relented.  Here 
was  woe  perhaps  as  deep  as  his  own. 

But  in  this  case  misery  loved  not  company, 
and  Smythe  was  surly.  No  ;  there  wasn't  any 
thing  Gray  could  do  for  him,  thanks.  He  was 
feeling  seedy,  that  was  all.  It  was  plain  to  see 
that  the  interview  with  Miss  Langdon  had  left 
him  sore  at  heart.  Gray  stood  another  mo 
ment,  irresolute.  There  was  absolutely  no 
reason  why  he  should  do  the  fellow  a  good 
turn.  Smythe  hated  him  and  plainly  showed 
it.  But  Gray  had  ignored  his  spleen,  and  ever 
good-humoredly  tolerated  him.  It  is  easy  for 
a  man  to  forgive  another's  jealousy.  But  Gray 
had  suffered  too  much  from  Miss  Langdon's 
caprice  not  to  know  the  symptoms  when  so 
patent  as  they  were  in  Smythe.  Ill  fortune 
makes  some  natures  magnanimous, — rare  na 
tures, — and  Gray  turned  again. 

"Look  here,  old  man"  ("old  chap'*  had 
not  then  come  into  vogue),  "  if  I  can't  do  any 
thing  for  you,  you  can  for  me.  I  was  to  have 
gone  with  that  party,  you  know,  to  Chillon 
this  morning.  Yonder  comes  the  boat  now. 
16 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

Go  to  Madame  for  me,  like  a  good  fellow,  and 
tell  her  I've  just  received  ill  tidings  from  home. 
I've  got  to  go  to  Geneva  by  the  ten  o'clock 
train.  I  was  paired  off  with  Miss  Langdon. 
Tell  Madame  I'm  awfully  sorry,  but  I  can't 
go.  She'll  ask  you  in  my  place — see  if  she 
doesn't.  So  long." 

And  in  another  minute  he  was  breasting  the 
heights  to  Lausanne,  while  Smythe  was  speeding 
to  Beau  Rivage. 

It  was  late  that  evening  when  he  returned  from 
a  solemn  day  with  the  bankers,  the  consul, 
and  certain  tradesfolk  whose  prospects,  tem 
poral  and  eternal,  he  was  given  to  understand 
were  shattered  by  his  cancellation  of  certain 
orders  for  furs  and  bijouterie.  Heavy  levy  was 
made  on  his  check-book  to  solace  their  suffer 
ing,  but  there  is  a  certain  recklessness  of  cost 
when  one's  financial  tether  is  nearly  at  an  end. 
Dinner  was  over  at  Beau  Rivage.  The  band 
was  playing  delightfully  in  the  south  portico. 
Men  in  evening  dress  were  sauntering  and 
smoking  and  sipping  coffee  about  the  corridor. 
A  few  American  and  English  girls  with  their 
escorts  were  dancing  in  the  salon.  Gray  was 
still  in  "knickers,"  and  had  dined  solus  at  the 
Hotel  Terminus.  He  paused  at  the  portico 
and  gazed  in  at  the  scene  of  mirth,  luxury,  and 
enjoyment  wherein  he  had  been  so  thoroughly 
at  home,  and  contrasted  unflinchingly  the 
scene  with  that  which  he  had  planned  for  his 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

future.  Now  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  get 
to  his  room  to  write,  and  he  hoped  to  reach 
it  unobserved,  but  the  Honorable  Rokeby 
had  received  his  instructions  and  nabbed 
him. 

"  Eoh,  /say,  Gray — Miss  Langdon,  y*  know, 
wished  to  speak  with  you  directly  you  came 
in." 

"Yes,"  was  the  languid  answer;  "and 
where  is  she  now  ?' ' 

* '  In  their  salon,  I  fancy.  She  said  she  was 
too  tired  to  dress  for  dinner.  Had  a  beastly 
day,  y'  know." 

Gray  nodded,  slowly  ascended  the  winding 
stairway,  and  tapped  at  the  door  in  the  west 
corridor. 

"'Trez,"  answered  a  boyish  voice,  and 
Darcy  was  exuberantly  welcomed  by  a  ten- 
year-old  Langdon.  ' '  The  mater  and  sis  are 
having  a  row  in  the  gallery,"  said  he,  radi 
antly.  "Old  Smythe's  been  pestering  her. 
Go  out  there  :  they  don't  mind  you,  you  know, 
and  I  can't  get  away  from  here  until  they've 
finished." 

But  further  confidences  were  ended  by  the 
sudden  entrance  of  Miss  Langdon  herself.  She 
had  evidently  been  watching  for  Gray's  return. 
Outstretched  to  him  in  eager  greeting  were 
Amy's  long,  slender  white  hands ;  uplifted  to 
his  in  anxious  inquiry  were  a  pair  of  the  softest, 
loveliest  eyes.  The  voice  in  which  she  spoke 
iS 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

was  soft,  almost  tremulous.  "What  is  it, 
Darcy?" 

And  the  hand  sidled  into  his,  and  Miss  Lang- 
don  to  a  sofa  whither  she  would  have  drawn 
him ;  but,  despite  the  hand,  which,  despite 
itself,  he  released,  he  remained  on  his  feet 
and  concisely  answered, — 

"What  you  expected." 

"  From  Mr.  Hunter? — Gerald,  go  down  and 
play  with  Ralph  until  mother  sends  for  you.'* 

"Ralph  isn't  there,"  was  the  petulant  an 
swer. 

"Then  go  and  play;  go  anyhow."  Then 
she  turned  for  answer.  ' '  From  Mr.  Hunter  ?' ' 

"Yes." 

"And  it's  true?" 

"  Yes,  every  cent." 

Then  the  hands  would  be  no  longer  denied. 
Both  went  impulsively  out,  seized  his  with  no 
timid  grasp,  and  drew  him  impetuously  down 
beside  her.  Then  to  his  amaze  he  saw  the 
fair  face  quivering  piteously,  the  lovely  eyes 
brimming  with  tears,  the  soft  red  lips  twitch 
ing  with  uncontrollable  emotion.  ' '  Oh,  you 
poor,  dear  boy — oh,  Darcy,  Darcy,  I  never — 
never  knew  how  much  I  cared  for  you  till 
now,"  she  almost  sobbed.  "Gerald,  if  you 
don't  leave  this  room  instantly  I'll " 

But  the  boy  bolted,  and  then  Darcy  saw  that 
she  was  gazing  up  at  him  through  a  briny 
depth  of  tears.  Even  in  his  surprise,  even  in 
*9 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

the  thrill  of  joy  with  which  he  heard  this  fond 
confession,  he  recaptured  himself,  as  it  were, 
in  the  nick  of  time. 

"  Under  the  circumstances,  that's  something 
I  didn't  expect  to  hear,"  said  Darcy. 

"Under  other  circumstances  you  wouldn't 
have  heard  it, ' '  said  Amy. 

"It's  a  bit  rough  on  Smythe,  isn't  it ?" 

"  It  in  no  wise  concerns  him.  As  for  Rokeby, 
he  must  take  me  just  as  I  am." 

"Oh,"  said  Gray,  looking  fairly  at  her  at 
last,  and  beginning  to  tug  at  the  hand  she  still 
held  in  her  two,  "  it' s  to  be  an  international 
affair,  is  it  ?  And  I  am  addressing  the  future 
Countess  of  Lancaster  ?" 

"  Listen  to  reason,  Darcy,"  said  Miss  Lang- 
don,  regaining  dignity  and  self-possession  at 
sight  of  the  hunger  in  his  eyes.  ' '  I  have  no 
money.  I  have  every  ambition,  every  longing, 
every  desire  that  only  position  and  money  can 
gratify.  I  like  you  better  than  any  man  I  ever 
knew,  yet  I  wouldn't  marry  you,  because  you 
hadn'  t  enough  to  offer,  and  I  never  so  fully  felt 
that  I  could  and  would  marry  you  as  now — 
when  I  can't.  Even  Mr.  Smythe,  with  half  a 
million,  could  not  buy.  I  am  going  to  a  higher 
bidder, — the  highest  I  could  find.  So  far  as 
I'm  concerned,  that  settles  my  fate,  but  it's 
yours  I  care  about,  Darcy.  You've  been  a 
dawdler  and  a  do-nothing  all  your  life.  What 
•will  you  do  now  ?' ' 

20 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

"  Be  true  to  my  friends — and  their  estimate 
of  me,  probably.  You  wouldn't  have  me  to 
disappoint  them,  would  you  ?' ' 

' '  What  on  earth  do  you  mean  ?  Speak 
sensibly,  Darcy.  I've  never  been  worth  your 
trust  when  you  gave  it.  Now  I'm  honest  with 
you.  What  will  you  do  ?' ' 

"  What  they  all  prophesied, — nothing." 

"  Darcy,  you  have  brains  and  energy.  You 
have — persistence  enough  to  win  anything — 
that's  worth  having,"  she  concluded  lamely. 

There  was  a  subdued  sound  of  sniffling  on 
the  balcony  without.  Over  the  moonlit  Alpine 
sea  the  mater  was  gazing  towards  the  shores 
of  France  and  wondering  if  many  mothers  had 
such  trials  as  daughters  at  whose  farthingales 
dangled  half  the  eligibles  in  society.  Smythe's 
mother,  it  seems,  had  taken  up  the  pen  to 
second  the  plaintive  baa  of  her  golden  calf, 
and  was  dealing  trenchant  blows  at  her  old 
crony,  the  mother  of  the  belle  of  the  season. 

' '  Mother  will  be  in  here  in  a  moment,  Darcy. 
You  must  be  frank  with  me,  and  Rokeby  may 
be  up — any  moment.  You  will  stay  here  until 
— you've  had  time  to  look  about  you  ?" 

"  I've  had  plenty  of  time  to-day.  Every 
thing's  settled.  Tell  Rokeby  I'm  sorry  I  shan't 
be  able  to  take  him  bear-  and  elk-hunting,  as 
I  promised." 

"Do  you  mean  you're  going  soon, — to 
morrow  ?' ' 

21 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"No,"  said  Gray,  rising,  "I'm  going  to 
night.'  ' 

One  instant  the  beautiful  face  beside  him 
wore  an  expression  of  utter  woe,  of  genuine 
sympathy  and  sorrow,  then  decked  itself  with 
winning  and  conventional  smiles,  for  the  salon 
door,  opening  at  the  moment,  revealed  young 
hopeful,  the  brother,  tugging  at  the  hand  of 
the  other  hopeful,  monocled.  Knickers  and 
evening  dress  confronted  each  other  at  the 
threshold.  Rejected  Yank,  accepted  Briton, 
met  as  do  modern  mortal  rivals  without  sign  of 
rancor. 

' '  Er — ah — what' s  up,  Gray  ?' ' 

' '  Nothing.     I'  m — down. ' ' 

By  the  midnight  express  he  left  via  Berne 
for  Basel.  He  could  not  face  the  throng  of 
inquisitive  sympathizers  on  the  morrow.  He 
meant  to  skip  away  unnoticed,  but  he  had 
been  too  genuinely  popular,  and  there  are 
men,  and  many  of  them,  Briton  or  Boston, 
who  will  go  out  of  their  way  to  say  good  words 
to  a  fellow  in  distress.  Three  of  them  trailed 
Gray  to  the  station  and  ran  him  to  earth  on 
the  train,  and  said  impetuous  things  about 
being  his  banker  and  made  other  offers  im 
possible  to  take  seriously.  The  only  thing  he 
could  take  was  a  drink  with  all  three,  until 
they  tumbled  off  at  the  conductor's  shrill  sum 
mons,  and  through  the  night,  under  the  glitter 
of  the  lamps,  something  came  gleaming  and 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

spinning,  and  he  caught  Rokeby's  handsome 
flask  and  Rokeby'  s  parting  words  : 

* '  Take  a  drink  for  me  once  in  a  while,  will 
you,  old  boy  ?    Att  revoir" 


CHAPTER  I. 

j|HE  major  was  sprawled  on  the  broad  of 
his  back  under  the  shade  of  a  spread 
ing  cottonwood,  a  slouch  hat,  battered 
and  weather-stained,  pulled  well  down  over  his 
fine,  dark-brown  eyes,  their  heavy  brows  con 
cealed  by  its  jagged  brim,  their  long,  thick,  curl 
ing  lashes  downward  sweeping  towards  the 
bronzed,  sun-tanned  cheeks.  The  bristling 
beard  and  curling  black  moustache  concealed 
the  lines  of  the  mouth  and  jaws,  rendering 
speculation  as  to  the  major's  characteristics 
mere  guess-work,  which  wouldn't  be  the  case, 
said  Captain  Trotter,  a  physiognomist  of  the 
first  order  in  his  own  estimation,  if  the  major's 
face  were,  as  usual  with  him  in  garrison,  freshly 
and  cleanly  shaved  except  as  to  the  upper  lip. 
Open  at  the  throat,  the  major's  dark-blue 
flannel  shirt  rolled  easily  back,  revealing  a 
black  waste  of  hairy  stubble  down  to  the  pro 
tuberant  "Adam's  apple,"  below  which  the 
fair  skin  showed  almost  as  white  as  a  child's 
and  well-nigh  as  soft.  A  devotee  to  cold  water 
was  the  major,  even  in  his  cups,  and  that,  too, 
in  days  when  the  traditions  of  the  great  war 
still  held  sway  in  the  cavalry,  and  the  cocktail 
24 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

was  the  rule,  not  the  exception,  at  morning 
stable-call.  Not  that  he  preached  the  doctrine 
of  total  abstinence  or  looked  upon  himself  as 
a  model  of  virtue  in  any  way.  "Whiskey 
never  did  me  any  good, ' '  was  his  modest  ex 
planation.  "  I  never  seemed  to  need  it  or  to 
care  for  it.  I  never  saw  any  fun  in  getting  full, 
and  the  only  time  I  ever  did,  it  made  me  sick 
for  a  week, — a  thing  that  never  happened  to 
me  before  or  since.  If  you  like  it,  Ray,  or  if 
it  agrees  with  you,  Blake,  why,  go  ahead.  So 
long  as  you  don't  get  full  and  neglect  your  busi 
ness,  it's  none  of  mine."  Time  was  in  the 
regimental  past,  as  the  major  very  well  knew 
and  the  minors  sometimes  said,  when  Ray 
occasionally  "  got  full' '  and  when  Blake  seemed 
to  think  it  agreed  with  him, — until  the  day  after 
wards,  at  least.  But  Blake  and  Ray  had  found 
reason  to  part  company  with  their  old  familiar 
friend,  that  intimacy  having  led,  as  often  do 
others,  to  later  estrangement ;  that  familiarity 
having  bred  contempt;  that  warmth,  as  Tom 
Hood  would  have  said,  having  produced  a 
coldness.  '  '  Singed  cats' '  was  what  the  un 
reconciled  of  the  subalterns  called  these  erst 
while  jovial  blades,  but  never  where  either 
"cat"  could  hear,  as  each  was  known  to  be 
unpleasantly  ready  to  back  his  views.  Both 
officers  had  so  far  mended  their  ways  in  this 
respect  that  neither  would  sip  from  the  seduc 
tive  bowl,  yet  each  was  entirely  willing  that  the 
25 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

rest  of  the  commissioned  lists  should  be  free 
agents  in  the  matter,  with  the  possible  excep 
tions  of  Brady,  who  never  drank  that  he  didn't 
make  an  ass  of  himself,  and  Rawson,  who 
never  drank  that  he  didn't  make  trouble  for 
somebody  else. 

And  about  these  five  men, — the  major,  whose 
name  is  spelled  M-a-i-n-w-a-r-i-n-g  and  always 
pronounced  "  Mannering,"  and  Ray  and 
Blake,  who  have  often  appeared  in  these 
chronicles  of  by-gone  frontier  days,  and  Brady 
and  Rawson,  who  have  never  yet  so  appeared 
and  who  never  will  again,  so  far  as  this  chron 
icler  is  concerned, — about  these  five  men  and 
one  other  yet  to  appear,  hangs  most  of  this 
story, — these  six  men  and  just  two  women. 

Place  aux  dames,  though  this  bivouac  on  the 
Boxelder  was  no  place  for  them  whatever,  and 
neither  woman  was  there  at  the  time,  and  only 
one  of  them  was  known  to  any  one  of  the 
men  referred  to.  One  of  the  women  was  Mrs. 
Mainwaring,  and  the  other,  a  spinster,  was 
Kate  Leroy. 

It  was  a  hot  day,  a  dusty  day,  and  the  com 
mand  could  prove  it  without  the  use  of  a  word 
as  it  unsaddled  in  the  grove  and  men  and 
horses  made  for  the  nearest  water.  They  had 
marched  since  early  morn  and  covered  twenty 
miles  when  the  trumpets  rang  the  signal  for  the 
final  halt.  They  had  been  winding  for  hours 
in  long  column  of  twos  down  the  sandy  bottom 
26 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

of  a  vanished  creek,  and  the  sight  of  this  oasis 
in  the  desert,  the  clump  of  cottonwoods  with 
its  outlying  stragglers  farther  down  stream,  was 
indeed  a  grateful  one.  It  told  of  the  presence 
of  living  water,  and  the  regiment,  said  Trooper 
Kelly,  ' '  was  as  dhry  as  the  chaplain' s  tem 
perance  sermon  the  night  before  Patrick' s  Day 
in  the  morning."  Mainwaring' s  four  troops, 
being  first  on  the  ground,  pre-empted  what 
grass  there  was  before  breaking  for  the  spring. 
Trooper  law  reserved  to  the  horses  of  the 
owner  all  space  within  lariat  length  of  the 
firmly  driven  picket-pin,  and  woe  to  the  man 
that  "jumped  the  claim."  In  like  manner 
had  the  major's  "  striker"  pre-empted  the  big 
gest  cottonwood  for  his  master' s  roof-tree,  and 
there,  dusted,  shaken,  and  smoothly  spread, 
were  the  major's  blankets  when,  fresh  from 
his  dip  in  the  stream,  that  sturdy,  keen-eyed, 
compactly  built  soldier  came  back  for  his  rest. 

And  there  he  lay,  the  picture  of  trooper  con 
tent,  beguiling  the  moments  until  dinner  should 
be  ready,  and  trying  hard  not  to  go  to  sleep 
meantime,  with  a  copy  of  "  Les  Miserables" 
hauled  from  the  depth  of  his  capacious  saddle 
bags.  Having  had  little  schooling  to  speak 
of,  Mainwaring  was  an  assiduous  reader  of 
fiction,  and  prided  himself  on  the  fact. 

Presently,  without  lifting  his  eye  from  the 
page,  or  glancing  towards  the  party  interro 
gated,  who  was  sprawled  in  similar  fashion 
27 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

under  an  adjacent  tree,  the  major  popped  the 
following  question  : 

"  Blake,  what's  savvy  ke  pew  ?" 

And  Blake,  without  lifting  his  eyes  from  the 
written  pages  of  the  missive  in  his  lean  brown 
hand,  responded,  after  the  manner  of  soldier 
folk,  ' '  Damfino.  * 

The  major's  brows  contracted  in  a  scowl. 
Suspiciously  he  glanced  at  his  long-legged 
comrade.  "  Thought  you  spoke  French,"  said 
he. 

To  which  Blake  blandly  responded,  with 
modest  and  not  inexcusable  hesitancy, — 

' '  We-11 — er — not  always.  Isn'  t  it — possibly, 
sauve  qui  peut  T  ' 

"Well,  sove  ke/z^,  then,"  responded  Main- 
waring,  with  disdainful  emphasis  on  the  con 
venient  monosyllable.  ' '  What' s  that  ?' ' 

"That,"  said  Blake,  " is  what  the  girls  say 
when  Brady  tries  to  dance, — -Jump  for  your 
lives  and — Brady  take  the  hindmost.  It's  polite 
French  for  '  the  jig  is  up/  * 

Captain  Ray,  stretched  at  ease  upon  a  costly 
Navajo  blanket  of  which  he  was  inordinately 
proud,  reached  out  with  his  moccasined  foot 
and  indented  the  canvas  re-enforcement  of  his 
comrade's  field  riding-breeches.  "Quit  it, 
Blake,"  he  muttered. 

But  the  major  needed  no  man  to  protect  his 
interests.     He  might  not  know  French,  but  he 
knew  Blake,  and  liked  him — ordinarily. 
28 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"  I  more  than  half  thought  you  didn't  know, 
Legs,"  he  said,  with  a  yawn.  "  Legs"  was  a 
regimental  pet  name  for  the  longest  and  lank 
iest  of  the  commissioned  list.  "You  West 
Pointers  have  nearly  all  had  two  years'  school 
ing  in  that  tongue,  and  another  year  in  Span 
ish,  and  I'm  blessed  if  ever  a  one  of  you  could 
speak  either.  I'd  have  a  heap  more  respect 
for  you  if  you'd  come  out  like  a  man  and  say 
you  didn't  know,  like  Ray,  for  instance. 
There's  no  nonsense  about  him." 

Here  Blake  kicked  backward,  in  delighted 
return  of  his  comrade's  broad  hint.  "  Well, 
major,"  he  hastened  to  say,  "  my  translation 
was  a  trifle  free,  perhaps,  but  the  phrase  is  a 
clumsy  one  to  turn  into  English.  Ray  will 
agree  with  me  as  to  the  translation.  The  main 
trouble  with  his  French  is  the  accent.  It's  a 
combination  of  blue  grass  and  Apache. ' ' 

' '  Well,  he  has  the  good  sense  to  keep  it  to 
himself,  then,"  answered  Mainwaring,  still  a 
trifle  sulky.  "  I'd  pattern  after  him,  if  I  were 
you." 

41  Faith  and  so  I  would,  major  mine,  did  not 
my  innocent  associates  so  often  take  me  for  a 
lexicon.  But,  now,  you  ought  to  speak  French 
like  a  native.  Mrs.  Mainwaring  does.  You 
couldn't  have  a  better  teacher,  and  Stannard 
says  all  a  man  needs  to  learn  anything  in  this 
world  is  brains  and  time.  You've  got  lots  of — 
time." 

29 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"What's  that  about  Stannard?"  interrupted 
the  major,  sharply,  and  Blake's  diversion  had 
told,  as  he  meant  that  it  should.  If  there  was 
one  man  in  the  army  of  whom  Mainwaring  was 
jealous,  it  was  Stannard.  He,  like  Stannard, 
had  been  a  capital  troop  commander  for  years. 
He  had  attained,  at  last,  the  rank  of  major, 
vice  Barry  promoted,  only  a  year  or  so  after 
Stannard  ;  had  served  just  as  well  as  had 
Stannard  ;  had  as  fine  a  war  record,  and  an 
honored  and  honorable  name ;  had  a  charming 
wife,  health,  and  competence,  yet  mourned  in 
secret — even  at  times  made  audible  moan — 
over  the  fact  that  among  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  regiment  what  Stannard  said,  thought, 
did,  was  never  to  be  questioned.  Stannard  was 
authority  on  all  points  of  soldiering  ;  Stannard 
was  the  expert  engineer,  builder,  draughtsman, 
topographer,  and  all-round  military  ' '  sharp  ;'  * 
while  he,  Mainwaring,  whose  troop  had  been  a 
model,  whose  battalion  was  now  really  in  finer 
shape  than  Stannard' s,  and  who  had  abundant 
means  and  spent  where  Stannard  saved,  was 
looked  upon  in  the  cavalry  as  a  good  soldier,  a 
fine  officer,  despite  his  surly  mannerisms,  and 
yet  because  he  hadn't  enjoyed  Stannard' s  ad 
vantages  and  a  college,  or  even  high  school, 
training,  he  must  submit  to  perennial  playing 
of  second  fiddle.  It  set  him  against  Stannard, 
and  it  led  eventually  to  trouble. 

"If  you'd  only  be  wise,  Leonard,"  his 
30 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

brighter  better  half  had  said  to  him,  "you 
wouldn't  ask  questions  of  Blake.  Look  it  up 
in  the  encyclopaedia,  or  even  ask  me." 

"Why,  hang  it,  Laura!"  interrupted  the 
major,  "  half  my  years  are  spent  in  saddle  out 
in  the  field.  You  and  the  encyclopaedia  are 
a  month's  march  away.  I  can't  help  wanting 
to  know  what  things  mean." 

"Then  ask  Captain  Truscott  or  Captain 
Freeman."  She  knew  too  much  to  wound  him 
by  suggesting  Stannard.  "  Blake's  propensity 
to  burlesque  everything  is  irresistible  unless 
you  happen  to  be  alone  with  him. ' '  And  Main- 
waring  would  promise,  and  despite  his  promise 
would  fall,  for,  as  he  frankly  admitted,  he 
couldn't  help  wanting  to  know,  you  know,  and, 
as  it  never  occurred  to  him  that  he  could  mis 
pronounce  any  word,  foreign  or  domestic,  poor 
Mainwaring  was  eternally  putting  his  foot  in  it. 
He  and  Tommy  Hollis  were  Blake's  entire  de 
light,  and  neither  man  could  resent  his  witti 
cisms,  even  when  they  verged  on  the  personal, 
for  Blake,  like  Ray,  was  a  regimental  idol  be 
cause  of  deeds  that  won  a  tribute  outvying 
the  Victoria  Cross  or  Congressional  Medal  of 
Honor.  Mainwaring  swore  by  both  as  sol 
diers,  and  Hollis  fairly  worshipped  Blake.  But 
Tommy  was  away  on  other  duty  just  now,  and 
the  shafts  of  the  long-legged  captain's  ridicule 
fell  most  improperly  on  his  sluggish- witted  chief. 

Blake   did   not    thoroughly  like  him.      He 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

thought  Mainwaring  selfish,  opinionated,  and 
conceited.  He  admitted  him  to  be  a  first-rate 
soldier,  a  fine  drill-master  and  tactician,  a  truth 
ful,  honest,  and  pure-minded  man,  a  devoted 
husband  and  father, — in  fact,  one  of  the  rep 
resentative  men  of  the  cavalry.  It  wasn't  that 
he  was  narrow  (his  tolerance  on  the  whiskey 
question  was  an  evidence  that  he  was  not),  yet 
he  was  "butt-headed,"  said  Blake.  "He's 
perpetually  referring  to  Ray  and  to  me  as  the 
exponents  of  the  liquor  habit,  when  both  of  us 
quit  long  ago.  We  all  like  Stannard,  and  he 
doesn't ;  at  least  he  is  always  ready  to  dispar 
age  anything  Stannard  says  or  does,  and  if  he 
were  Stannard's  senior  instead  of  junior  he'd 
overrule  any  decision  or  order  of  Stannard's 
just  because  it  was  Stannard's.  So  when  he 
comes  out  with  his  bulls  I  can't  help  goading 
him  a  bit.  Somebody's  got  to  keep  him  in 
check,  or  we'll  be  getting  the  laugh  from  those 
fellows  of  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth." 

"They  wouldn't  see  the  blunders,  Blake, 
only  you  show  'em  up,"  said  Ray,  in  re 
monstrance,  and  with  not  a  little  reason,  for 
Blake  was  incorrigible.  "  Some  day  you'll  cut 
Mainwaring  to  the  quick,  and  he  comes  of  a 
stock  that  hits  hard  and  doesn't  forgive  easy  or 
forget  at  all.  Better  hold  off,  Legs." 

And  "hold  off"  Legs  had  to  for  several 
days  of  a  dreary  homeward  march,  dreary 
because  the  colonel  meant  to  rest  the  horses 
32 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

thoroughly  after  a  fierce  and  furious  chase  and 
campaign,  and  so  made  short  marches  where 
the  officers  and  men  would  gladly  have  made 
two  a  day.  The  road  was  dusty,  the  October 
sunshine  was  hot  and  dry,  the  nights  were  snap 
ping  cold,  but  here  at  last  they  were  only  one 
day  out  from  their  new  station,  Fort  Ransom, 
and  Blake  had  broken  bonds  again.  Raising 
himself  on  elbow  and  peering  across  the  blue- 
shirted  shoulder  of  his  friend,  Ray  could  see 
that  Mainwaring  was  still  glowering  at  him, 
and  evidently  pondering  over  that  reference  to 
his  having  time  enough  to  learn  anything.  As 
yet  its  full  significance  was  not  apparent,  but  it 
was  the  policy  of  wisdom  to  distract  his  atten 
tion  and  set  his  wits  to  work  on  something  else. 
Like  the  horse,  which  noble  animal  Mainwaring 
almost  worshipped,  he  could  consider  only  one 
point  at  a  time.  So  up  rose  Ray  and  strolled 
over  to  him.  "  If  you've  no  objections,  major, 
I'd  like  to  ask  the  colonel  to  let  my  quarter 
master  sergeant  ride  into  Ransom  to-night. 
He  tells  me  his  wife  is  quite  ill.  The  ambu 
lance  is  going,  and  will  give  him  a  lift.  We'll 
lead  his  horse  with  the  troop  to-morrow." 

' '  Why  not  ride  him  in  to-night  ?' '  asked 
Mainwaring,  who  had  served  but  little  under 
Atherton  since  the  war,  and  knew  not  how 
strict  were  his  rules  regarding  horses. 

"Because  the  colonel  wishes  every  horse  to 
share  and  share  alike.  The  sergeant's  horse 
3  33 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

would  have  an  extra  twenty  miles  if  ridden  in 
to-night.  Yonder  comes  Stannard's  battalion 
now,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  dust-cloud  sailing 
slowly  towards  them  from  the  north.  "He'll 
bivouac  above  us,  I  reckon." 

"Yes,  and  spoil  our  water,  like  as  not," 
growled  Mainwaring.  "But  we've  got  the 
grass  and  shade. ' ' 

"  Devil  doubt  you,"  muttered  Blake,  "  and 
you've  got  the  best  of  both."  Then,  aloud, 
"  A$k  the  old  man,  with  my  compliments,  if  I 
may  do  him  the  honor  of  dining  with  him  to 
morrow,  Billy.  Mrs.  Atherton  has  everything 
ready  for  his  coming,  I'll  be  bound,  while  your 
better  half  and  mine  and  the  major's  here 
can't  come  till  we  get  there  and  choose  quar 
ters." 

' '  Mrs.  Mainwaring  will  be  there  quicker  than 
I  will,"  said  the  major,  promptly. 

"That's  all  easily  explained.  Mrs.  Main- 
waring  knows  the  major's  quarters  can  go  to 
nobody  but  the  major,  and  she  can  move  in  at 
once.  We  poor  devils  of  troop-leaders  must 
wait  till  our  seniors  have  chosen.  What' s  more, 
Mrs.  Mainwaring  has  no  nurse  and  babies  to 
look  after." 

"No,  but  she's  bringing  a  companion  with 
her,  in  the  shape  of  her  niece  that  she's  often 
talked  to  me  about.  I  think  I  told  you  about 
her, — Miss  Leroy.  She's  been  abroad  for  a 
year,  and  wants  to  come  and  see  something  of 
34 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

her  own  country.  They  ought  to  reach  Butte 
to-night,  or  early  in  the  morning. ' ' 

'  •  Will  she  ?' '  exclaimed  Blake.  ' '  Then  like 
as  not  she'll  have  an  escort  :  Rawson' s  coming 
out  with  a  batch  of  recruits.'* 

"  Bah  !"  growled  Mainwaring,  who  had  little 
use  for  Rawson  or  any  other  officer  who  was 
away  on  leave  when  his  regiment  was  in  the 
field.  "Mrs.  Mainwaring' s  never  met  him, 
and,  if  she  had,  would  feel  mighty  small  se 
curity  in  his  escort, — a  fellow  that'll  be.  held 
up  with  a  whole  car-load  of  passengers  by  only 
two  robbers." 

Mainwaring  alluded  to  a  matter  that  was  a 
sore  spot  in  the  — th  and  that  never  yet  had 
been  fully  explained.  But  Mr.  Rawson,  three 
months  earlier  that  summer,  had  unquestion 
ably  been  relieved  of  his  few  valuables  at  the 
point  of  the.- pistol  on  the  K.  P.  road.  The 
regiment  meant  to  worry  the  life  out  of  him 
when  he  rejoined,  but  didn't  like  it  that  Main- 
waring,  a  new-comer,  should  be  the  first  to 
crack  the  whip.  Blake  almost  wanted  to  blaze 
up,  but  thought  it  best  perhaps  to  wait  for  Ray, 
and  so  subsided. 

Ray,  however,  had  sauntered  out  to  the  edge 
of  the  scanty  patch  of  timber,  and,  shading  his 
eyes  with  his  brown  hand,  was  scanning  with 
professional  interest  the  long  column  of  dusty 
troopers,  two  abreast,  that  came  filing  into 
view  around  a  little  point  five  hundred  yards 
35 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

away.  Well  out  in  their  front,  short,  square, 
and  stocky,  rode  their  major,  his  adjutant, 
trumpeter,  and  orderly  jogging  along  behind. 
To  him  rode  the  colonel's  messenger,  the  regi 
mental  adjutant,  and  pointed  out  a  line  some  dis 
tance  up-stream.  Thither  the  head  of  column 
veered,  moving  at  a  steady  walk.  The  guidon- 
bearer,  at  a  signal  from  the  battalion  adjutant, 
spurred  out  to  the  front,  and,  with  the  old 
silken  swallow-tail  streaming  in  the  wind,  loped 
across  the  level  to  a  point  ten  yards  or  so  from 
the  bank,  was  halted  there  by  the  young  officer 
in  person,  and  then,  lance  at  rest,  he  and  his 
horse  stood  motionless.  Never  quickening  the 
pace,  the  captain  at  the  head  of  Stannard's 
foremost  troop  directed  his  march  on  this  living 
guide-post.  The  guidon  of  the  second  troop, 
followed  speedily  by  those  of  the  third  and 
fourth  in  like  manner,  darted  out  across  the 
prairie,  each  in  succession  being  halted  and 
established  at  half-distance  in  rear  of  his  pre 
decessor  on  the  line  of  guides.  Each  troop 
directed  itself  upon  its  own  color ;  each  in 
succession  formed  line  to  the  left  as  its  leading 
two  came  opposite  the  guidon  ;  each  was  aligned 
to  the  right;  then,  without  loss  of  time,  the 
trumpets  sounded,  "  Prepare  to  dismount ;"  the 
brown  carbines  were  jerked  from  their  sockets 
and  tossed  over  the  right  shoulder  as  the  odd- 
numbered  troopers  rode  clear  of  the  rank. 
"  Dismount,"  clamored  the  trumpet,  and  down 

36 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

out  of  sight  sank  some  fifty-odd  blue  flannel 
shirts  and  rusty  old  hats  in  each  line.  "  Form 
rank."  And  out  from  among  the  chargers 
popped  the  vanished  riders,  each  laying  hold 
of  the  reins  close  to  the  bit  as  the  line  reformed 
and  the  captain  said  his  brief  speech  :  "Water 
as  soon  as  you  like,  men,  and  graze  well  out 
to  the  north  until  nightfall.  No  side  lines  ne 
cessary  to-day.  Dismiss  the  troop,  sergeant." 
And  the  next  thing  a  dozen  men  were  scamp 
ering  like  mad,  lariats  and  picket-pins  swing 
ing,  heading  for  the  most  promising  patches  of 
grass.  Each  picket-pin  was  stamped  home, 
the  lariats  uncurled  to  their  full  length,  and 
then  back  ran  the  troopers  to  unsaddle  and  lead 
to  water.  Ten  minutes  more,  and  the  chargers 
of  Stannard's  battalion,  perhaps  two  hundred 
and  fifty  in  all,  were  being  slowly  driven  in  four 
distinct  herds,  well  out  upon  the  northward 
slopes,  where,  after  a  preliminary  roll,  each 
horse  set  contentedly  to  grazing.  Those  pre 
empted  patches  close  at  hand  were  reserved  for 
their  further  use  at  night. 

And  then  the  little  cook-fires  began  to  blaze 
along  the  bank,  and  the  pack-trains  shambled 
in,  and  were  unloaded  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  The  mules  went  blinking  off  to  water, 
and  the  major,  never  quitting  his  saddle  until 
his  last  trooper  dismounted,  slowly  lowered 
himself  to  earth  and  went  off  in  search  of  the 
colonel. 

37 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"  If  you' ve  no  objections,  sir,  I'd  like  to  send 
a  sergeant  in  ahead  to-night." 

"Why,  Stannard,"  said  the  colonel,  look 
ing  up  from  under  his  hat-brim  in  some  sur 
prise,  "that's  just 'what  Ray's  been  asking. 
Anything  amiss  ?' ' 

"Well,  his  time  expires  to-morrow,  sir.  It's 
old  Bannon,  of  '  B'  Troop,  and  he'd  like  to 
catch  the  East-bound  train,  so's  to  have  all  the 
time  possible  to  go  and  visit  his  children  in 
Illinois.  He'll  re-enlist  at  once." 

"  And  your  man,  Ray  ?' ' 

"Is  Sergeant  Merriweather,  sir.  He  says 
his  wife's  at  Ransom  quite  sick,  and  he's 
anxious  and  troubled  about  her." 

"  Isn't  he  the  man  that  we  had  to  reprimand 
for  letting  certain  horses  stray  up  on  the  Belle 
Fourche  ?" 

"The  very  man,  sir.  He  is  careless  at 
times,  and  not  altogether  reliable,  but  he's 
one  of  the  smartest,  nattiest  men  I've  got, 
and ' ' 

"Didn't  he  marry  that  pretty  maid-servant 
of  the  Freemans'  after  we  got  back  from  the 
Ute  campaign  ?' ' 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  Freeman  hasn't  forgiven  me 
yet,"  answered  Captain  Ray,  his  white  teeth 
gleaming.  "I'm  very  sure  I  should  be  glad 
to  have  him  take  her  back.  She's  turned  the 
heads  of  some  of  my  best  men,  and  is  running 
Merriweather  heels  over  head  in  debt." 

38 


RAY    S    RECRUIT 

The  colonel  pondered  a  moment.  "I 
greatly  dislike  to  refuse  you  anything,"  he 
said  ;  ' '  but  every  time  we  come  in  from  scout 
or  campaign,  since  I  joined  the  regiment,  no 
sooner  are  we  within  a  day' s  march  or  so  of  the 
home  station — or  any  station,  for  that  matter 
— than  several  men  ask  to  ride  in  ahead.  At 
first  even  the  officers  did,  and  there  were  as 
many  as  a  dozen  men.  Now  we've  reduced  it 
to  two.  When  did  Merriweather  hear  from  his 
wife?" 

"  The  mail  rider,  sir,  going  up  to  the  Sioux 
Agency,  met  us  this  morning  early  and  gave 
him  a  letter.  He  brought  it  to  me  to  read.  It 
was  written  by  the  post-trader's  wife.  She  says 
Mrs.  Merriweather  is  really  seriously  ill." 

' «  Very  good.  Then  he  can  go  by  the  am 
bulance.  So  can  your  man,  major.  Tell 
them  both  to  report  here  at  three  o'clock. 
Isn't  Merriweather' s  time  nearly  out,  Ray?" 

"  Only  two  months  to  serve,  sir,  and  he  says 
he's  going  into  business  with  a  brother  in 
Chicago.  I  lose  three  non-commissioned  offi 
cers  this  fall  in  that  way,  and  one  of  them  I 
couldn't  take  on  again  :  he's  all  broken  down 
with  wounds  and  rheumatism.  You'll  have  to 
favor  me  a  bit  in  the  matter  of  recruits,  col 
onel.  I  need  six,  or  shall  before  we're  a  month 
older." 

"You  shall  have  the  first  good  man  that  en 
lists  at  Ransom,  Ray.  I'm  told  we  may  pick 
39 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

up  some  first-rate   material   there,  the  mines 
have  broken  so  many." 

"  All  right,  colonel ;  and  I'll  remind  you  if 
I  see  any  likely  civilian  hanging  around  head 
quarters.  Good-day,  sir,  and  thank  you  very 
much."  So  saying,  Captain  Ray  wheeled 
about  and  trudged  away  down-stream  to  make 
his  report  to  his  battalion  commander. 

1 '  Did  he  say  Merriweather  could  go  ?' '  asked 
the  major,  glancing  up  at  Ray's  sunshiny  face. 
"  I  wouldn't,  if  I  were  in  his  place." 

"  He  wasn't  over-willing  at  first,"  was  the  an 
swer.  '  '  However,  my  fellows  will  all  be  wishing 
themselves  back  in  the  field  before  they've  been 
home  a  fortnight, — small  blame  to  them." 

"  What's  the  reason  you're  so  down  on  gar 
rison  life,  Ray  ?' ' 

"I'm  not  down  on  it  exactly,  major,  but  if 
it  weren't  for  the  wife  and  boys  I'd  be  glad  if 
we  were  forever  in  the  field,"  answered  Ray. 
"Men  get  killed  in  this  Indian  business,  but 
they — keep  out  of  trouble.  There's  Merri 
weather,  now.  He  was  a  tip-top  sergeant  in  the 
Sioux  campaign.  He  was  one  of  the  best  all- 
round  troopers  and  non-commissioned  officers 
in  the  regiment  all  through  the  campaigns  that 
followed  in  the  next  three  years,  and  he' s  been 
running  down  steadily  ever  since  he  fell  in  love 
with  that  flibbertigibbet  of  Freeman's.  Gar 
rison  life  and  girls  spoil  many  a  good  cavalry 
man,  ' '  he  concluded,  oracularly. 
40 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"Don't  dare  me  to  tell  that  to  Mrs.  Ray  as 
your  sentiments,"  grinned  the  major. 

' '  Oh,  everything  depends  on  the  girl,  of 
course,"  said  Ray,  growing  instantly  grave. 
"  Blakey  and  I — well,  /,  at  least,  owe  every 
thing  to  my  wife,"  he  finished,  almost  rever 
ently.  Then  presently  he  spoke  again.  ' '  But 
what  chance  has  the  average  trooper  ?  What 
manner  of  woman  has  he  to  mate  with,  if  he 
mate  at  all  ?  Next  batch  of  recruits  I  get 
should  be  anchorites,  so  far  as  women  are  con 
cerned.  '  * 

"Sailors  are  just  as  bad  as  soldiers,"  said 
Mainwaring,  sagely.  Whereat  Blake  ducked 
his  head  under  his  blanket  in  convulsions  of 
delight. 

"I  know,  sir,"  said  Ray,  glancing  venge- 
fully  at  the  contortions  of  the  worn  gray  slum 
ber-robe,  and  biting  his  own  lip  hard  to  repress 
the  bubbling  fun.  "What  I  mean  is  that  I'd 
like  to  get  the  troop  full  of  fellows  that  couldn'  t 
be  twisted  around  a  woman's  finger." 

"You  never  will,  Ray,"  said  Mainwaring, 
thereby  proving  that  he  knew  human  nature,  if 
not  books.  * '  You  can  take  your  pick  of  this 
gang  that  Rawson's  bringing  out  with  him,  or 
of  any  of  the  men  that  offer  themselves  at  Ran 
som,  and  I'm  willing  to  bet  that  the  next  man 
you  enlist  will  be  woman-driven  from  the  word 
go" 


41 


CHAPTER  II. 

j|HE  night  express  was  fifty  minutes  late  al 
ready,  and  engine  783,  waiting  at  the 
Junction  with  her  snow-plough  set,  was 
hissing  and  rumbling  impatiently.  The  big 
brown  building,  embracing  hotel  and  waiting- 
rooms,  ticket-  and  station-master's  office,  loomed 
up  against  the  star-dotted  sky.  The  switch- 
lights  gleamed  in  crimson,  green,  and  dazzling 
white  here,  there,  and  everywhere  along  the 
glinting  rails.  Bleary  lamps  were  burning  in 
frost-covered  windows,  and  tiny  sparks  fluttered 
from  the  pipe  of  the  solitary  biped  on  the  plat 
form,  a  burly  man  in  the  toil-stained  garb  of  a 
locomotive  engineer,  a  sturdy  fellow  who  limped 
as  he  stamped  up  and  down  the  creaking  planks 
of  the  platform,  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  his 
eyes  everywhere.  To  him  came  forth  his  fire 
man,  splitting  his  mouth  with  a  wedge  of  bilious- 
looking  pound-cake.  He  strove  to  speak,  but, 
finding  articulation  impossible,  jerked  back 
ward  his  head  and  pantomimed  the  process 
of  serving  himself  with  a  cup  of  comforting 
drink, — coffee,  presumably,  for  he  was  fresh 
from  the  lunch-counter. 

' '  Come,  swallow  the  rest  of  that  grub,  now, 
and  be  lively  with  your  oil-can.     We  can't  wait 
42 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

two  minutes  after  she  once  gets  in.  No,"  he 
continued,  as  the  younger  repeated  his  persua 
sive  pantomime,  "  I  had  my  tea  at  home,  and 
that's  enough.  You'll  die  of  over-eating,  first 
thing  you  know.  Do  your  best  now.  We've 
got  an  extra  Pullman  and  a  car-load  of  green 
horns  to  haul  up  to  Butte  this  night  of  all  others, 
and  I'm  betting  it's  snowing  in  the  mountains 
now." 

So  saying,  the  engineer  turned  and  gazed  anx 
iously  westward,  where  even  the  stars  seemed 
blotted  from  sight,  then  quickly  whirled  about 
and  bent  his  ear. 

"Coming  at  last,"  he  muttered.  "That's 
old  Coyote's  yelp  for  the  cross-roads.  Damned 
little  wind  for  whistling  has  she  left,  either. 
No  wonder  No.  3*5  late,  with  nothing  better 
than  that  limping  carcass  to  drag  it.  She 
ought  to  be  in  the  bone-yard, — ought  to  'a* 
been  there  a  year  ago.  But  here's  the  beauty,'1 
said  he  to  himself,  as  he  turned  and  laid  a 
loving  hand  on  the  massive  driving-rod  of 
the  huge  machine.  "  Lively,  Scut,"  he  added  : 
"  3*s  coming." 

Scut  was  descending  from  the  cab  as  a  cat 
comes  down  a  tree,  backward.  "  What  'n  'ell 
they  takin'  recruits  to  Ransom  for  now  ?' '  he 
asked.  "  The  war's  over." 

"It's  to  fill  the  gaps  made  when  the  war 
wasn't  over,  young  man,  and  mighty  hard 
they'll  find  it  to  fill  some  of  'em,  too.  Jim 
43 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Strang,  that  was  killed  at  Cave  Springs,  was 
corporal  with  me  in  Bates's  troop  eight  years 
ago,  and  there  wasn't  a  better  sergeant  in  all 
the  cavalry.  Lo  loves  a  shining  mark,  or  I'd 
never  got  hit  twice  in  one  day." 

"Would  you  go  back  to  soldierin*  if  you 
could,  Mr.  Long?"  asked  the  fireman,  tilt 
ing  up  his  long-necked  can  as  he  thrust  the 
nozzle  deep  in  between  the  spokes  of  a  massive 
driver. 

"  I  ?  Give  me  back  the  legs  I  had  before  the 
Sioux  made  a  sieve  of  my  skin,  and  it  isn't  the 
rail  I'd  be  riding,  but  the  best  sorrel  in  Billy 
Ray's  troop,  and  with  the  best  office  in  it,  and 
that's  first  sergeant." 

"It's  takin*  chances  to  be  in  the  cavalry 
these  days, ' '  said  he  of  the  oil-can,  listening  to 
the  low,  far-away  rumble  of  the  coming  train. 
"  Do  you  see  her  head -light  yet  ?" 

"She  isn't  through  the  cut,"  was  Long's 
answer.  "As  to  taking  chances,  they've  done 
nothing  but  take  chances  in  that  regiment  ever 
since  the  war  ;  yet  there  isn't  a  day  of  our  lives 
we  don't  take  chances,  and  bigger  chances, 
right  here  on  this  mountain  division." 

A  tall  young  fellow  in  travelling-cap  and 
ulster  had  come  out  from  the  lunch-room  and 
was  strolling  over  towards  the  hissing  engine. 
He  stopped  and  listened  as  Long  spoke,  then 
seemed  to  be  pondering  over  the  words  and 
looking  to  the  engine-man  for  explanation. 
44 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?"  asked  Scut,  pausing 
in  his  work  and  looking  up.  "We  haven't 
had  a  '  hold-up'  on  the  road  for  over  a  year." 

' '  Neither  have  we  had  a  head-on  collision, 
nor  spreading  rails,  nor  a  plunge  from  a  trestle, 
but  they  are  only  three  of  the  things  likely  to 
occur  any  minute,  especially  when  trains  are 
running  behind  as  we  are  to-night, — all  on  ac 
count  of  that  one-eyed  Coyote  that's  peeping 
at  you  down  yonder." 

It  was  the  head-light  of  No.  3,  just  dawning 
on  the  view  at  Mile  End  Crossing,  to  which  the 
engineer  referred. 

"  Watch  how  slowly  she  comes,"  he  added. 
"The  old  maid  is  about  worn  out.  Here's  the 
girl  that  can  shake  that  train  up  grade  as  though 
'twas  made  of  bandboxes.  I'll  bet  you  we 
make  Butte  by  seven  o'clock." 

"  I'll  bet  you  don't,  if  you'll  let  me  in,"  was 
the  cool  interjection  of  the  young  man  ulster- 
clad  ;  "for  Butte's  my  objective  point." 

' '  What  do  you  know  about  it,  or  about  rail 
roading?"  asked  Long,  suspiciously. 

"As  much  as  you  did  when  you  quit  sol 
diering,  and  no  more,  wherein  we  have  much 
in  common,  Mr.  Long;  but  here's  where  the 
difference  comes  in.  You  quit  soldiering  to 
take  to  the  railroad  ;  I  quit  the  road  to  take  to 
soldiering." 

"Oh,  I  see.  Then  you're  an  officer?" 
queried  Long,  his  accustomed  lips  framing  the 
45 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

little  word  ' '  sir' '  and  almost  resenting  his  en 
forced  omission  of  the  once  familiar  monosyl 
lable.  Long  said  ''sir"  to  no  one  under  the 
division  superintendent  now. 

' '  I  ?  Devil  a  bit, ' '  was  the  laughing  answer. 
"I'm  not  even  a  lance, — not  even  a  recruit. 
Man,  I  haven't  signed  my  papers  yet." 

"Then  take  a  fool's  advice  and  don't  sign 
them,"  interposed  Long.  "  Pbw'vegot  no  call 
to  go  soldiering.  Such  as  you  come  in  only 
when  it's  whiskey  or  women  or  cards." 

' '  Say  it' s  all  three,  if  you  like, ' '  was  the 
half-laughing  answer.  ' '  I  heard  of  you  as  one 
of  the  old  cavalrymen  at  the  barracks  yonder," 
and  the  stranger  nodded  carelessly  over  his 
shoulder  in  the  direction  of  the  post,  estab 
lished  long  years  before  when  the  road  was 
being  built.  "They  sent  me  there  by  mis 
take.  It' s  the  cavalry  I  want,  not  infantry. ' ' 

The  engineer  looked  the  speaker  over  in 
surprise.  Away  down  the  track  the  head-light 
of  the  incoming  train  was  growing  bigger  every 
moment,  and  the  rumble  of  the  bulky  approach 
could  be  plainly  heard. 

"You  don't  look  like  a  man  who  had  to 
take  to  soldiering,"  he  said. 

"Oh,  I'm  not,"  was  the  prompt,  good- 
natured  reply.  "I  doit  simply  because  I've 
a  hankering  that  way,  and — no  other,"  he 
added,  under  his  breath.  "Perhaps  you  can 
tell  me  something  of  the  regiment  at  Ransom  ?' ' 
46 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"  Enough  about  it  to  talk  from  here  to '  Frisco, 
but  there's  no  time  now.  We've  got  to  pull  out 
with  that  train  the  moment  their  engine  gets 
out  of  our  way.  But  you're  the  first  man  I 
ever  met  out  here  who  would  openly  say  he 
was  going  to  enlist.  They  all  come  up  shame 
faced  like,  as  though  it  was  the  last  thing  they 
wanted  people  to  know." 

"  Oh,  I  never  found  it  paid  to  sail  under 
false  colors, ' '  was  the  answer,  in  a  tone  of  gay 
good  humor,  not  unmixed  with  a  dash  of  reck 
less  disdain.  "I've  nothing  to  lose.  But  I 
would  like  to  ask  you  something  about  the 
troop  commanders  there  at  Ransom.  Can't 
you  give  me  a  lift  in  the  cab  ?  I've  a  pocket 
ful  of  better  weeds  than  you  get  out  this  way, 
if  that's  any  inducement."  And,  so  saying, 
he  reached  down  into  the  deep  pocket  of  his 
ulster  and  brought  out  a  handful  of  cigars. 

Mr.  Long's  manner  changed  in  an  instant. 
"'Gainst  orders,"  said  he,  briefly,  gazing  sus 
piciously  into  the  stranger's  face  as  he  spoke. 
"Better  get  your  ticket,  if  you're  going  to 
Butte."  And,  swinging  himself  up  to  his 
perch,  he  grasped  the  reversing  lever  with  one 
hand  and  the  throttle  with  the  other.  Scut 
laid  hold  of  the  cord  and  set  the  big  bell  to 
swinging  warning  of  their  coming.  The  huge 
machine  began  slowly  to  move  rearward  as  the 
much  maligned  and  belated  Coyote  came  hiss 
ing  by  on  the  fireman's  side,  and  that  be- 
47 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

grimed  young  man  availed  himself  of  the 
chance  to  chaff  his  fellow-workers  in  the 
flitting  cab.  He  took  no  heed,  therefore,  of 
the  stranger's  parting  hail,  but  Long  was  eying 
him  closely  and  listening  for  any  word. 

"  I've  got  tickets  all  right,"  said  the  lonely 
man  on  the  platform,  "but  I'd  rather  sit  up  in 
a  cab  than  sleep  in  a  Pullman.  It's  all  right, 
though.  Have  a  smoke  anyhow."  And  with 
lavish  hand  he  tossed  half  a  dozen  cigars 
into  the  cab  as  he  walked  beside  the  moving 
engine.  Then,  with  a  cordial  wave  of  his  hand, 
he  turned  aside  to  the  lunch-room,  into  the  door 
way  of  which  a  half-score  of  hungry  passengers 
from  the  arriving  train  were  eagerly  pushing. 

"Only  three  minutes,  gents,"  sung  out  the 
conductor.  "We've  got  to  make  up  time  be 
fore  we  reach  the  Rockies — can't  do  it  there." 
And  he  darted  into  the  train-despatcher's  office 
to  register  and  receive  his  orders. 

Meantime  Scut,  still  clinging  to  the  bell- 
cord  with  one  hand,  was  scooping  up  cigars 
with  the  right.  ' '  That  fellow' s  a  prince, '  * 
said  he.  "Just  look  at  that  for  a  seegar." 
And  he  held  it  admiringly  up  to  Long  to  see, 
and  was  amazed  at  the  gloom  in  his  com 
panion's  face.  "Why,  what's  up?"  he  asked. 

"What's  up?"  repeated  the  engineer,  as  he 

slowed  down  on  nearing  the  forward  end  of  the 

mail-car.     "A  hold-up,  unless  I'm  mistaken, 

and  the  fewer  of  them  cigars  you  stick  in  your 

48 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

mouth  the  more  brains  you'll  have  left  in  the 
morning."  With  a  sharp  click  the  heavy 
coupling-pin  was  driven  home,  and  Long  sent 
the  reversing  lever  over  to  the  front,  then  poked 
his  head  out  of  the  side  of  the  cab  and  shouted 
to  a  train-hand  he  saw  hurrying  by,  '  *  Where 
you  got  them  recruits,  Billy  ?' ' 

"  First  coach  behind  the  baggage,"  was  the 
answer,  as  the  man  glanced  over  his  shoul 
der.  "There's  some  of  'em  now."  And,  as 
he  spoke,  bounding,  laughing,  and  dodging 
through  the  knot  of  hungry  passengers,  half  a 
dozen  young  fellows  in  fatigue  uniform  or 
bright  blue  overcoats  went  hastening  by  to  the 
lunch-room,  followed  by  shouts  from  somewhere 
back  along  the  train.  Presently  a  middle-aged 
man  in  the  garb  of  a  sergeant  of  cavalry  came 
stalking  after  them,  a  man  who  seemed  just 
aroused  from  sound  sleep,  and  not  too  well 
pleased  as  a  consequence. 

"Get  back  to  that  car,  you  men,"  he  or 
dered,  authoritatively.  "  Didn't  I  tell  you  not 
a  soul  of  you  could  leave  it  without  my  per 
mission  ?" 

But  the  recruits  were  lined  up  at  the  lunch- 
counter  by  this  time,  and  gleefully  shouting  for 
coffee  and  reaching  for  doughnuts,  pie,  any 
thing  edible  within  reach.  The  waiter  looked 
perturbed  and  hesitated.  The  proprietor  came 
hurrying  over  from  his  desk.  The  little  throng 
of  passengers  seemed  sympathetic  and  inter- 
4  49 


RAY    S   RECRUIT 

ested.  "Who's  to  pay  for  this?"  demanded 
the  owner,  as  the  sergeant  came  fuming  and 
almost  fighting  his  way  into  the  crowded  room. 
1 '  Have  your  men  got  any  money  ?' ' 

"'Course  we  have,"  sung  out  a  jovial  Pat, 
"  and  the  credit  of  a  benevolent  and  paternal 
government  to  back  it,  and  there's  my  last  cint 
to  prove  what  I  say,"  he  added,  whacking 
down  a  silver  dollar  on  the  counter. 

"That  ain't  enough  by  the  mate  to  it,"  said 
the  proprietor,  gruffly.  ' '  Come,  clear  out, 
you  boys.  Train's  going  ;  no  time  for  coffee. 
This  will  pay  for  the  things  you're  eating,"  said 
he  ;  and  he  made  a  grab  for  the  dollar,  but 
Pat  was  too  quick  for  him. 

' ' '  Board, ' '  shouted  a  hoarse  voice  on  the 
platform  without. 

"  Back  to  your  car,  you  men,"  ordered  the 
sergeant. 

"  Give  me  that  dollar,"  demanded  the  boss. 

"Give  us  the  coffee,"  replied  the  recruits, 
and  for  once  the  populace  seemed  to  side  with 
the  soldier.  The  tall  young  man  in  the  ulster 
and  travelling-cap  lounged  up  to  the  counter 
and  tossed  a  two-dollar  bill  at  the  angry  man 
ager.  "  Give  them  what  they  want,"  said  he, 
"and  be  quick  about  it.  Have  some  coffee 
yourself,  sergeant.  There' 11  be  no  other  chance 
till  you  get  to  Butte."  Then,  with  swift,  sig 
nificant,  downward  glance  at  the  flap  of  a  pocket, 
he  lifted  into  view  the  silver  top  of  a  sizable 
50 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

flask,  and  the  sergeant  grinned  and  nodded 
appreciatively.  The  steaming  cups  were  slid 
along  the  board,  the  embryo  soldiers  laughing 
and  hustling  good-naturedly,  pouring  the  hot 
liquid  into  the  thick  stone  saucers  and  blowing 
industriously  at  the  yellow-brown  flood.  The 
conductor  came  to  the  door  and  stormed  ;  the 
passengers  began  to  edge  away  for  their  cars. 
No.  783  gave  a  warning  whoop  or  two,  and  the 
fireman  pulled  at  the  bell-cord,  but  the  blue- 
coats  wouldn't  budge. 

"  Go  ahead,  Long.  Damned  if  I'll  hold  this 
train  another  second,"  shouted  the  conductor, 
with  energetic  wave  of  his  lantern.  Hiss  went 
the  stop-cocks.  The  big  engine  quivered  and 
trembled  in  response,  and  with  convulsive 
cough  a  volume  of  inky  smoke  was  belched 
from  the  stack.  Scut's  bell  clanged  furiously, 
but  only  very  slowly  the  long,  ponderous  train 
began  to  move.  The  crockery  rattled  and  the 
windows  shook  as  the  massive  engine  came 
boiling  and  rumbling  and  panting  by.  The 
conductor  heard  his  name  called  by  the  en 
gineer  and  hurried  alongside.  "  Look  out  for 
that  kid  in  the  big  ulster.  Tell  you  why  at 
Willow  Springs, ' '  was  the  hoarse  warning,  as, 
with  slowly  quickening  speed,  old  783  went 
ponderously  on.  The  conductor  looked  dazed. 
The  joyous  band  of  blue-coats  came  tumbling 
forth  as  the  foremost  car  rolled  smoothly  past, 
and,  agile  as  monkeys,  leaped  to  the  platform 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


of  the  baggage  and  "smoker,"  waving  their 
caps  and  shouting  jovial  farewells.  The  ser 
geant,  once  more  assuming  official  relations, 
sternly  ordered  them  within  their  own  car,  and 
bade  them  keep  quiet,  that  the  other  men, 
wearied,  might  sleep.  Then  the  conductor 
came  hurriedly  in  and  glanced  eagerly  about 
him  as  the  sergeant  looked  at  his  watch. 

It  was  just  half-past  one. 

"Who's  your  friend  in  the  ulster?"  de 
manded  the  conductor.  "  Where' d  he  go  ?" 

' '  Never  saw  him  before  in  my  life, ' '  said 
the  sergeant.  "  I  s' posed  we  left  him  there," 
he  added,  with  regretful  thought  of  that  hand 
some,  capacious,  silver-topped  flask. 

"Did  you  see  where  he  went?"  asked  the 
conductor  of  the  brakeman  who  followed  in. 

"  Thought  he  jumped  on  the  next  car,"  was 
the  answer.  "  He  had  a  grip-sack,  I  know." 

' '  Go  and  see, ' '  was  the  brief  order. 

The  official  turned  once  more  to  the  ser 
geant,  who  was  settling  himself  back  in  his 
seat.  "  Say,  you'll  have  to  take  better  care 
of  your  men,"  he  began.  "  I  can't  have  them 
bouncing  out  at  every  stopping-place  and  de 
laying  the  train." 

"You  don't,"  said  the  sergeant,  with  a 
yawn.  "  That's  the  first  time  any  one  of  them 
has  got  off,  and  they  wouldn't  have  done  that 
if  it  wasn't  that  they  were  hard  up  for  coffee." 

"You  should  have  given  them  coffee  last 
52 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

night  at  the  supper  station,"  said  the  conductor, 
wrathfully. 

"I  did,  and  it  was  so  bad  they  threw  it 
away.  This  was  better,  and  I'm  sorry  they 
weren't  all  awake  to  have  some.  They'll  need 
it  before  we  get  to  Butte.  What  time  can  we 
make  it  now,  d'you  s'pose  ?" 

"Not  before  seven,  if  we  do  then.  We 
have  two  freights  and  a  cattle-train  to  meet, 
and  everything's  running  crooked  to-night,  even 
if  we  have  no  other  trouble.  Sure  you  never 
saw  that  fellow  in  the  ulster  before  ?'  * 

"Sure.  What's  the  matter  with  him  ?  He 
treated  like  a  nabob." 

"That's  one  reason  I  want  to  know  all  about 
him.  What  arms  have  you  fellows  ?" 

' '  None  at  all, ' '  was  the  answer,  as  the  ser 
geant  looked  up  in  surprise.  "  I've  a  revolver, 
of  course,  but  that's  all.  Why?  You  never 
have  a  '  hold-up'  along  here,  do  you  ?' ' 

But  the  conductor  did  not  answer.  The 
train  had  ' '  struck  its  gait, "  as  he  expressed  it, 
now,  and  was  swaying  as  it  tore  westward 
along  the  rattling  rails.  The  brakeman  was 
hastening  back  to  the  car.  ' '  See  him  ?' ' 
queried  the  conductor,  impatiently. 

"  No,  sir  :  he's  gone  back  to  the  sleeper." 

Somewhere  among  the  drowsing  car-load  of 

recruits  a  voice  was  uplifted  in  not  unmelodious 

song.     Most  of  the  men  were  sleeping  soundly, 

but  the  lively  squad  of  night-owls  just  bundled 

53 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

aboard,  refreshed  by  their  coffee  and  bite  at 
the  station,  seemed  desirous  of  further  enter 
tainment.  "  Odd,"  said  the  conductor,  "I've 
hauled  many  a  lot  of  poor  devils  out  to  Wy 
oming  and  beyond  ;  most  of  'em  never  came 
back,  but  I  never  yet  saw  a  lot  that  didn't 
sing.  What  on  earth  have  they  got  to  sing 
for?'1 

"  The  Lord  knows,"  answered  the  sergeant, 
"and  I've  been  soldiering  twenty  years." 

' '  Always  in  the  cavalry  ?' ' 

"Yes,  all  but  one  'listment  in  a  casemate 
that  brought  me  nearer  to  desertion  than  ever  I 
thought  to  be. '  * 

"  Never  meet  my  engineer, — Jimmy  Long  ? 
He  used  to  be  sergeant  in  the  cavalry  out 
here.  Got  shot  through  the  legs  in  an  Indian 
fight  seven  or  eight  years  ago  and  had  to 
quit. ' ' 

"  Know  of  him  well,  as  most  of  us  did,  and 
I'd  be  glad  to  see  him.  He's  pulling  us  to 
night,  is  he  ?' ' 

"  Yes,  and  I  wish  you'd  come  forward  with 
me  when  we  get  to  Willow  Springs,  only  a  few 
miles  ahead  now.  He  thinks  there's  some 
thing  wrong  with  that  young  fellow  in  the 
ulster.  I've  got  to  go  back  and  look  him  up. 
Meet  me  on  the  platform,  right-hand  side,  when 
we  stop,  will  you  ?' ' 

The  sergeant  nodded,  and  the  conductor 
went  his  way. 

54 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

In  the  foremost  sleeper  he  found  the  object 
of  his  search,  already  comfortably  ensconced 
in  the  smoking-compartment,  his  ulster  thrown 
aside,  his  feet  on  the  opposite  seat,  a  fragrant 
cloud  of  smoke  curling  from  the  tip  of  his 
cigar.  He  had  raised  the  window,  and  was 
gazing  out  upon  a  spangled  firmament  above, 
a  black  void  where  lay  the  barren  earth  below. 
Without  a  word,  his  cigar  still  between  his 
teeth,  he  felt  in  the  waistcoat-pocket  of  a  well- 
made  travelling-suit  of  tweed,  took  out  a  card- 
case,  and  extracted  therefrom  his  railway  and 
berth  tickets  and  handed  them  to  the  lantern- 
bearing  official. 

The  conductor  studied  the  former  closely. 
It  was  a  ' '  through' '  from  Chicago  to  Butte, 
unlimited.  He  turned  it  upside  down,  hind 
side  foremost,  and  still  seemed  to  find  nothing 
amiss. 

"  Where'  d  you  get  this?"  he  presently 
asked,  glancing  keenly  at  the  young  man  from 
under  his  cap  visor.  The  passenger,  still  with 
out  removing  his  cigar,  simply  pointed  to  the 
head  of  the  ticket,  which  showed  that  it  was 
purchased  at  the  office  of  the  C.  R.  I.  £  P.  in 
Chicago.  ' '  Stopped  off  at  Platte  Junction  ?' ' 
asked  the  conductor. 

' '  Yes.     What  time  will  we  reach  Butte  ?' ' 

"  Not  before  seven.  Plenty  of  time  to  go  to 
bed  and  sleep."  And  the  tone  of  the  railway 
official  plainly  indicated  that  that  was  what  the 
55 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

conductor  thought  the  young  man  ought  to  do, 
instead  of  mooning  to  all  hours  of  the  night  in 
the  smoking-room.  The  passenger  gravely 
nodded  acquiescence  and  said  nothing.  After 
an  irresolute  pause  the  conductor  again  spoke  : 
'  *  Did  you  tell  the  porter  to  show  you  to  your 
berth?" 

The  traveller  in  tweeds  was  evidently  a  youth 
of  varying  moods.  Chatting  with  the  engineer 
he  was  frank,  jovial,  light-hearted,  even  con 
fiding.  In  the  brief  scene  with  the  troopers  he 
was  laughing  and  friendly,  even  lavish,  from 
their  point  of  view.  Was  it  some  sense  of 
suspicion,  some  subtle  intuition  that  he  was 
the  object  of  a  special  scrutiny  on  the  conduc 
tor's  part, — that  he  was  being  subjected  to  a 
cross-questioning  never  thought  of  in  the  case 
of  other  patrons  of  the  road  ?  Something  in 
the  conductor's  look,  tone,  and  manner  had 
given  him  umbrage.  Like  some  itinerant  clam, 
storm-tossed  and  at  odds  with  the  world,  he 
drew  within  his  shell  and  clamped  the  jaws  of 
his  reserve.  Something  akin  to  a  frown  settled 
between  his  eyebrows.  He  looked  coolly,  al 
most  defiantly,  straight  into  the  half-closed  eyes 
of  his  questioner,  with  a  pair  of  wide-open 
keen  blue  orbs  of  his  own,  and  under  his  soft 
brown  moustache  his  curved  pink  lips  set  like 
a  trap.  For  a  moment  he  made  no  reply,  then 
finally  answered,  "  No." 

Mr.  Jarvis  was  an  old  hand.     He  had  run 

56 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

trains  over  the  Transcontinental  ever  since  it 
first  bored  a  way  through  the  hunting-grounds 
of  the  Sioux,  and  many  a  tramp  had  he  hustled 
off  the  cars  in  mid-prairie,  but  this  was  no 
tramp.  This  was  a  self-possessed,  well-dressed, 
fine-looking  tourist,  and,  but  for  the  straight, 
sharp,  American  clip  to  his  words,  rather  of 
the  English  type.  He  nettled  the  conductor, 
and  the  conductor  had  nettled  him.  Each  was 
now  bristling  at  every  point,  and  in  no  mood  to 
appreciate  the  other's  position. 

'  *  Well,  do  you  propose  to  sit  up  all  night  ?' ' 
was  the  next  question,  propounded  in  a  tone 
common  enough  on  the  far-away  Western  rail 
way  a  decade  or  so  ago. 

' '  What  earthly  business  is  it  of  yours  whether 
I  do  or  not?  I've  bought  a  berth  and  the 
privilege  of  using  it  or  not  as  I  see  fit. ' ' 

The  train  was  slowing.  It  was  nearing  Wil 
low  Springs.  The  conductor  had  other  duties 
to  attend  to,  and  knew  he  must  quit  the 
field. 

"I'll  see  you  later,  my  cocky  friend,"  he 
muttered  to  himself,  as  he  turned  angrily  away, 
with  distinct  sense  of  defeat,  then  let  himself 
out  on  the  platform  with  a  most  unprofessional 
slam  of  the  sleeper  door. 

It  was  a  long  hundred  yards  up  to  the  en 
gine,  but  Jarvis  hastened  through  the  day-car 
and  smoker  until  he  came  to  the  recruit-car 
platform,  by  which  time  the  train  was  at  a 
57 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

stand  and  he  could  safely  spring  off  and  run 
alongside.  Under  the  dim  light  of  the  station, 
the  tall  figure  of  the  cavalry  sergeant  loomed 
before  his  eyes,  his  chevrons,  stripes,  and 
buttons  gleaming.  The  station-keeper  came 
sleepily  forth  as  the  conductor  stepped  into  the 
dim  beam  of  light  from  the  office  window. 
"  Come  on  up  to  the  engine  with  me,"  he  said, 
and,  wondering,  the  drowsy  servitor  followed. 
The  platform  was  short,  and  the  trio  presently 
had  to  spring  down  and  trudge  along  the  prai 
rie  sod  by  the  track  side.  Long  was  waiting 
for  them,  leaning  out  from  his  cab.  At  sight 
of  the  once  familiar  crossed  sabres  and  but 
tons  a  gleam  of  pleasure  shot  across  his  grimy 
face. 

"  Hullo,"  he  said.  "  I  used  to  know  pretty 
much  every  fellow  that  wore  the  stripes  in  that 
regiment." 

"  And  pretty  much  every  fellow  in  it  knew 
you  or  of  you.  My  name' s  Kearney, ' '  said  the 
sergeant,  reaching  up  a  hand.  But  the  con 
ductor  had  no  time  for  ceremonies. 

"  What's  this  about  the  feller  in  the  ulster  ?" 
he  demanded.  "He's  ticketed  through  to 
Butte  from  Chicago,  and  is  sassy  as  they  make 
'em.  What  d'  you  know?" 

"I  don't  know  anything.  But  you  remem 
ber  that  affair  on  the  K.  P.  last  July, — the 
swell  that  shot  the  expressman  near  Wallace  ? 
Well,  he  was  just  such  another  good-looking 
58 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

fellow  as  this,  well  dressed  and  all  that,  with 
lots  of  money.  What  makes  me  suspicion  this 
chap  is  that  he  says  he's  out  here  to  enlist ; 
wanted  to  ride  in  the  cab  and  talk  about  it  to 
me.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  fellow  wanting  to 
enlist  until  he  was  dead  broke  or  half  starved  ? 
This  young  fellow's  pockets  are  full  of  cigars." 

"He  don't  want  to  enlist,"  chimed  in  Ser 
geant  Kearney,  derisively.  "  He  has  a  roll  as 
thick  as  my  hand.  Treated  all  the  crowd  back 
there  at  the  junction." 

"You  hear  that?"  said  Long.  "It's  just 
like  as  not  he's  aboard  to  find  out  who's  in 
that  sleeper  and  who's  armed  in  the  day-car, 
and  we'll  meet  his  pals  somewhere  up  in  the 
foot-hills.  Better  let  some  of  the  soldiers  into 
the  express-car  and  one  or  two  here  with  me 
after  we  pass  No.  12.  Where  does  she  side 
track  for  us  ?" 

"We'll  get  orders  at  Boulder  Creek,"  an 
swered  the  conductor.  "  I'll  watch  our  cocky 
friend  till  then.  No.  12  can't  pull  out  of 
Thunder  Gap  till  we  get  there.  Now  let  her 
go  for  all  she's  worth,  Jimmy." 

Then  back  to  the  platform  he  hurried,  eag 
erly  explaining  to  the  silent  station-master  the 
cause  of  their  delay  earlier  in  the  night.  The 
sergeant  sprang  aboard,  and  Jarvis  swung  his 
lantern. 

"You  haven't  heard  of  12  at  all?"  he 
shouted. 

59 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"Not  since  she  left  Pawnee,'*  was  the  an 
swering  cry.  "They'll  hold  her  at  the  Gap." 

And  now  as  the  sergeant  re-entered  the  stuffy 
coach  the  songster  had  ceased.  The  melodi 
ous  sounds  had  given  place  to  many  a  snore. 
He  glanced  again  at  his  watch,  and  the  hands 
were  pointing  to  five  minutes  of  two. 


60 


CHAPTER    III. 

ITTIIUSHING  westward  through  the  night,  the 
^^|  great  train  was  indeed  * '  going  for  all 
she  was  worth."  Twenty-five  miles 
away  lay  the  foot-hills.  There  began  the  tor 
tuous  up-hill  climb  to  the  high  plateau  at  Paw 
nee,  forty  miles  of  twist,  turn,  tug,  and  -pull, 
that  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  road  were  never 
attempted  without  two  engines.  Now  the 
mammoths  like  783  scorned  even  a  pusher. 
But  to-night  she  had  to  haul  an  extra  sleeper 
and  an  extra  coach,  both  crowded,  the  latter 
packed  with  recruits,  the  former  with  a  joyous 
party  of  excursionists,  bound  for  the  Pacific 
coast.  It  was  swift,  straight,  smooth  running 
along  the  flats  of  the  broad  valley,  dotted  here 
and  there  as  it  was  with  farms  and  ranches,  and 
traversed  over  the  old  buffalo  ranges  by  great 
herds  of  horned  cattle.  This  crisp,  moonless, 
star-lit  night  all  the  Western  world  was  dark 
and  still,  but  for  the  clank  and  rush  of  the  flash 
ing  monster  with  its  long,  dimly-lighted  train. 
The  lonely  occupant  of  the  smoking-compart- 
ment,  gazing  silently  out  upon  the  northward 
heavens,  had  forgotten  to  keep  alive  the  tiny 
fire  of  his  cigar,  and  it  had  died  unnoticed  be- 
61 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


tween  his  long,  white,  slender  fingers.  A  glance 
at  the  handsome  watch  he  drew  from  his  waist 
coat-pocket  told  him  it  was  almost  two  o'  clock 
as,  after  a  brief  stop  at  some  unknown,  almost 
unseen,  station,  the  train  rolled  on  again.  The 
porter  had  come  in  to  ask  some  question  about 
how  he  would  have  his  pillow,  front  or  back, 
and  was  told  it  made  no  difference.  Would 
the  gentleman  like  one  here  in  the  smoking- 
room  ?  No,  he  would  turn  in  presently.  Call 
him  in  plenty  of  time  for  Butte.  Then  the 
porter  tiptoed  off  to  the  rear  of  the  heavily  cur 
tained  aisle  and  curled  himself  up  in  a  vacant 
section,  leaving  the  stranger  to  his  thoughts. 

And  that  these  were  sad  there  could  be  no 
doubt  whatever.  His  face  as  it  sank  into  re 
pose  looked  white  and  drawn  in  the  dim  light 
of  the  overhanging  lamp.  Once  or  twice,  as  he 
gazed  out  upon  the  waste  of  darkness,  his  eyes 
seemed  to  fill,  his  lip  to  quiver  with  strange, 
strong  emotion.  Once  he  bent  forward,  covered 
his  face  with  both  hands,  and  leaned  his  elbows 
on  his  knees,  then  suddenly  started,  pulled 
himself  together,  "  braced  up"  as  he  perhaps 
would  have  expressed  it,  thrust  the  moist  end 
of  the  cigar  between  his  teeth,  found  it  cold 
and  unresponsive,  tossed  it  away,  arose,  gave 
himself  a  shake,  took  the  flask  from  his  ulster- 
pocket  and  passed  through  the  door-way  to 
the  lavatory  where  were  the  ice-water  tanks, 
and  started  despite  himself. 
62 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

A  haggard  face,  flattened  against  the  glass 
of  the  forward  door-way,  was  peering  in  at  him, 
— a  face  that  was  instantly  withdrawn. 

This  was  before  the  days  of  vestibuled  cars. 
Seizing  the  door-knob  and  laying  his  flask  on 
one  of  the  basins,  the  young  fellow  quickly  let 
himself  out  upon  the  platform  and  glanced 
about  him.  There  on  the  lowest  step,  clinging 
to  the  hand-rail,  cringed  and  cowered  the  fig 
ure  of  a  man  who  turned  his  head  and  gazed 
piteously,  pleadingly  up  at  the  tall  stranger. 
A  tramp  beyond  doubt,  and  a  shivering  wretch 
he  was,  for  the  night  air  was  sharply  cold.  A 
powerful  hand  was  laid  upon  the  shoulder  of 
the  crouching  figure  and  heaved  it  up,  and  the 
poor  creature's  teeth  chattered  as  he  made 
some  inaudible  plea. 

"  I  can't  hear  you,"  said  the  man  in  tweeds. 
"Come  in  here.  You're  half  frozen."  And 
he  would  have  led  him  into  the  sleeper,  but 
found  that  the  snap-latch  was  set, — that  he  had 
locked  himself  out.  Still  clinging  to  his  pris 
oner,  he  led  on  into  the  rear  door  of  the  day- 
coach  ahead.  The  lights  were  burning  blear 
and  dim.  The  passengers,  curled  or  sprawled 
about  their  seats,  were  sleeping  as  best  they 
could.  A  brakeman's  lantern  lay  on  the  floor 
at  the  head  of  the  aisle,  and  the  brakeman  sat 
in  a  forward  seat,  half  dozing,  wholly  uncon 
scious  of  the  addition  to  the  car-load. 

' '  Stealing  a  ride,    I    suppose  ?'  *    said    our 

63 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

traveller,  presently.  "  Where'  re  you  trying  to 
get  to  ?' '  And  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders 
he  glanced  pityingly  at  his  quaking  captive. 

"To  Pawnee, — half-way  over  the  range," 
was  the  shivering  answer.  "  I've  got  a  sick 
wife  there,  and  was  beatin'  my  way  as  well  as 

I  could ' '  But  the  poor  fellow  gave  it  up. 

Cold  and  misery  and  hunger  were  too  much 
for  him.  The  train  was  slowing  up  again  ; 
another  prairie  station, — they  had  them  every 
ten  or  dozen  miles.  The  brakeman  shook 
himself,  picked  up  his  lantern,  and  went  out 
in  front.  The  party  in  tweeds  shoved  his 
new  acquaintance  into  the  first  vacant  seat, 
swung  himself  to  the  ground  the  moment  the 
train  stopped,  ran  back  and  tapped  under  a 
rear  window  of  the  sleeper,  and  the  sash  was 
raised  and  the  porter's  head  popped  out. 

"Let  me  in  at  the  rear  door,  porter,"  said 
Tweeds.  "  I  locked  myself  out." 

The  negro  recognized  the  voice  of  his  well- 
dressed  passenger,  sniffed  a  double  fee,  and 
jumped  for  the  door. 

"Beg  pardon,  suh ;  sorry,  suh,  but  we  has 
to  lock  these  doors  at  night  out  hyuh  :  tramps 
come  in  'most  any  time  if  we  don't." 

But  the  young  man  smiled  carelessly,  has 
tened  through  the  car,  got  his  flask,  set  the 
latch  so  that  he  could  re-enter,  and  the  next 
minute  was  administering  a  stiff  drink  to  the 
rag-  heap  on  the  rear  seat.  Once  more  the 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

man  essayed  to  tell  his  story.  He  was  penni 
less,  he  hadn't  even  anything  left  to  sell,  but 
out  from  an  inner  pocket  he  took  an  old  worn 
card  photograph  and  showed  it  to  his  new 
found  friend.  "My  wife  and  baby,"  said 
he,  with  a  choke,  "but  the  baby's  gone, — 
thank  God.*' 

"Here,  take  another  drink,"  said  Tweeds. 
Then  back  to  the  smoker  he  went,  and  reap 
peared  with  some  sandwiches.  The  train  again 
moved  on.  The  brakeman  returned,  became 
aware  of  the  new-comers,  and  came  down  and 
curiously  inspected  them.  The  liquor,  the 
warmth,  the  food,  and  human  sympathy  were 
restoring  courage  to  the  abject  object  of  a  few 
minutes  before.  He  looked  up  without  a  qua 
ver  at  the  brakeman' s  hail,  but  Tweeds  spoke 
for  him.  "  I  found  this  poor  fellow  back  here 
a  few  miles  half  frozen,  and  hauled  him  in. 
He  only  wants  to  go  on  to  Pawnee.  It's  all 
right :  he  can  pay  his  fare  when  the  conductor 
comes." 

The  brakeman  went  off  suspiciously  to  hunt 
up  his  chief  and  report,  and  the  conductor 
promptly  appeared.  His  face  grew  darker  at 
sight  of  the  two.  He  held  irresolutely  the  ten- 
dollar  bill  handed  him  by  Tweeds,  and  looked 
from  one  man  to  the  other  in  deep  distrust. 
"  I  don't  understand  this,"  he  said.  "  How'd 
you — where'  d  you  get  aboard  ?' ' 

"At  Willow  Springs,"  said  the  tramp.  "I 
5  6S 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

walked  there  from  the  Junction.  I'd  'a'  frozen 
if  it  hadn't  been  for  this  gentleman/' 

"I  can't  change  this,"  said  the  conductor. 
"I'll  fetch  it  presently."  And,  nodding  to  his 
brakeman  to  follow  him,  he  hurried  up  the 
aisle.  At  the  forward  end  of  the  car  he  whis 
pered,  "  Watch  those  two  like  a  cat,  now.  I'm 
going  forward  to  get  the  sergeant  and  some  of 
his  men  and  seat  them  here  where  they  can 
keep  an  eye  on  that  precious  pair.  There's 
fun  ahead  for  somebody  this  night,  but,  by 
God,  they  don't  catch  old  Bill  Jarvis  napping. 
You  stay  here,  now,  till  I  come." 

But  no  sooner  were  they  gone  than  the  tramp 
began  brokenly  to  heap  thanks  and  blessings 
on  his  benefactor,  and  the  latter  impatiently 
turned  away.  "That's  all  right,"  said  he. 
"Never  mind  that.  I'm  glad  to  help,  for  I 
believe  your  story.  The  conductor  will  give 
you  the  change  when  he  comes  in.  Now,  good 
night  :  I've  got  to  turn  in." 

"But — say  ;  Mister  ;  Stranger, — hold  on  one 
minute.  I — I  want  to  pay  this  back — some  day. 
How' 11  I  know  you  ?  Where' 11  I  send  it  ?" 

But  Tweeds  shook  his  head,  waved  him  off, 
strode  back  to  the  sleeper,  sprung  the  latch 
against  pursuit,  then  half  filled  a  glass  from 
his  flask,  gulped  the  contents  down,  and  re 
seated  himself  in  the  smoking-compartment. 
"That's  the  first  man  I've  found  in  a  fort 
night,"  said  he,  "more  miserable  than  I  am." 
66 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

With  that  he  took  some  letters  from  his 
pocket,  glanced  them  over,  and  tore  the  en 
velopes  to  shreds,  sending  the  fragments  sail 
ing  on  the  night.  At  a  small  card  photograph 
in  a  flat  Russia  leather  case,  a  portrait  of  a 
laughing  girlish  face,  he  gazed  lingeringly, 
then  returned  it  to  an  inner  pocket.  ' '  No  one 
would  know  it  now,"  he  muttered.  Next  he 
lifted  from  his  card-case  a  dozen  or  more  paste 
boards  that  bore  in  plain,  heavy  script  the 
words  "Mr.  Darcy  Hunter  Gray, "  ripped  them 
into  shreds,  and  sent  them  flying.  As  calmly 
and  methodically  he  searched  through  every 
pocket  for  every  scrap  of  paper,  bills  or  billet- 
doux,  anything  that  could  tend  to  establish  his 
identity  ;  glanced  dubiously  at  the  monogram 
on  the  back  of  his  watch  ;  scraped  the  letter 
ing  out  of  the  crown  of  his  hat ;  took  a  foun 
tain-pen  from  his  pocket  and  some  paper  and 
envelopes  from  his  satchel  ;  wrote  with  infinite 
difficulty,  owing  to  the  swaying  of  the  car,  two 
brief  notes  which  he  enclosed  and  stowed  under 
the  flap  of  his  bag,  then  once  more  glanced  at 
his  watch.  It  was  two  forty-five,  and  No.  783 
was  whistling  for  Boulder  Creek.  At  last  they 
were  out  of  the  valley.  Now  for  the  climb  up 
the  divide. 

' '  One  cigar, ' '  he  muttered.  "  I  let  the  other 
go  out.' '  His  match-box  had  disappeared.  He 
tried  one  pocket  after  another,  without  result. 
Neither  was  there  one  to  be  had  in  the  com- 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

partment.  The  train  had  stopped,  and  he 
could  hear  footsteps  on  a  wooden  platform  and 
the  muffled  voices  of  men.  Tiptoeing  through 
the  long,  dim,  curtain-bordered  aisle,  he  was 
suddenly  checked.  Out  from  a  narrow  open 
ing  between  the  curtains  of  the  second  section 
came  a  slender  little  white  hand,  holding  a 
silver  travelling-cup,  and  a  soft  voice,  silvery 
as  the  cup,  murmured,  ' '  Oh,  porter,  would  you 
kindly  get  me  some  water?"  Mr.  Gray  took 
the  cup,  filled  it,  restored  it  with  a  bow  to  the 
unseen  occupant,  watched  the  lily-white  hand, 
with  its  few  treasures  of  rings,  slip  back  be 
tween  the  folds,  then  aroused  the  porter,  prof 
fered  his  request  for  matches,  and  asked  if 
there  was  any  possibility  of  the  ladies  being 
incommoded  by  his  smoking. 

"  No,  suh,  not  a  bit,  suh.  They  can't  smell 
it  when  you  stay  in  the  smoking-room.  There' s 
only  two  ladies  in  the  car,  suh.  Both  going  up 
to  Butte, — Mrs.  Mainwaring  and  a  young  lady 
with  her." 

"  Know  her  name  ?" 

"  No,  suh,  I  don't,  suh.  The  lady  with  her 
calls  her  Pet  mos'  the  time." 

Mr.  Gray  once  more  returned  to  his  compart 
ment,  lighted  his  cigar,  and  seated  himself  in 
the  corner  by  the  open  window.  The  train  still 
lay  at  the  station.  Voices  still  echoed  among 
the  dingy  wooden  buildings,  and  a  light  or  two 
flickered  about  the  platform.  The  conductor's 
68 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

voice  was  presently  heard.  He  was  interrogat 
ing  the  station-agent,  and  Gray,  seated  close  to 
the  open  casement,  couldn't  help  hearing. 

"  Both  took  tickets  to  Pawnee  ?" 

* '  Yes,  both.  Left  their  horses  here  in  Hank' s 
stable  and  took  supper.  No,  they  haven't  been 
drinking  at  all." 

Mr.  Jarvis  lowered  his  voice.  He  was  talk 
ing  eagerly,  but  only  the  answer  was  audible. 

' '  Oh,  of  course  ;  cowboys  always  are.  Each 
has  his  revolver  and  knife.  But  you'll  see  'em 
for  yourself :  they'  re  in  the  smoking-car. ' ' 

"Sure  nobody  knew  'em  around  here?*' 

"Certain.  They  said  they'd  never  been 
here  before." 

Mr.  Jarvis  waved  his  lantern.  "Well,  we've 
got  to  go,"  said  he,  "but  you  keep  your  eyes 
and  ears  open,  and  wire  after  us.  I  suppose  it's 
all  right  about  No.  1 2, "  he  shouted,  as  he  swung 
on  the  platform. 

The  station-agent's  voice  followed  them  out 
into  the  night. 

"She's  coming  along  all  right.  Suppose 
you'll  meet  her  at  the  Gap.  She's  due  there 
at  three  ten." 

"  Due  there  in  five  minutes,"  thought  Mr. 
Gray  to  himself,  as  he  meditatively  puffed  at 
his  fine  havana,  « « and  by  good  rights  I  should 
have  been  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just  and  in 
nocent  hours  ago."  The  train  soon  seemed 
laboring  in  a  heavy  sea.  The  hoarse  panting 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


of  the  engine  came  throbbing  back  on  the  night. 
The  huge  Pullman  rolled  deep,  first  to  one  side 
awhile,  then  to  the  other,  as  it  trailed  on  around 
the  sharp  reverse  curves  of  some  unseen  grade. 
Out  of  the  darkness  to  the  right  and  against  the 
northern  stars  loomed  up  dim,  bulky  shapes,  and 
Gray  realized  that  the  foot-hills  were  reached, 
that  the  long  tortuous  climb  was  beginning. 
Up,  up,  higher  and  higher  steamed  the  strain 
ing  giant  in  the  lead,  the  dense  smoke-clouds 
rolling  rearward  lighted  brilliantly  every  few 
seconds  by  the  glare  from  the  roaring  furnace 
into  which  Scut's  shovel  was  heaping  coal  by 
the  bushel.  No.  783  was  doing  her  best,  as 
Long  predicted,  but  even  her  superb  lungs  and 
tempered  muscles  could  barely  drag  so  heavy 
a  burden.  Only  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour  was 
she  making  now,  thought  Gray,  as  once  more 
the  sleeper  door  was  opened,  and  the  conductor, 
followed  by  a  brakeman,  bustled  in.  He  glared 
suspiciously  into  the  dim  recess  of  the  smoking- 
compartment,  the  brakeman  peering  over  his 
shoulder. 

"  Ain't  you  going  to  bed  to-night  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Presently,"  yawned  Gray,  "  if  I  get  sleepy." 

"Your  friend  there  in  the  other  car  hasn't 
lost  much  time.  He's  snoring  like  he  hadn't 
slept  for  six  weeks.  Where'  d  he  say  he  lived  ?" 

"  Pawnee." 

' '  Know  him — there  ?' ' 

"No,  nor  anybody  else." 
70 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"  Never  been  out  here  before  ?" 

Gray  was  in  no  mood  for  talk,  much  less  for 
cross-examination.  He  shrugged  his  broad 
shoulders  impatiently.  ' '  Never. ' ' 

The  conductor  hesitated,  looked  long  and 
fixedly  at  his  passenger,  studying  what  he  could 
see  of  his  face,  figure,  and  clothes  in  that  dim 
light.  He  turned  half  reluctantly  away,  then 
turned  back. 

"  Well,  if  you  want  any  sleep  before  we  get 
to  Butte  you'd  better  be  getting  it,"  said  he, 
with  that  broad  freedom  of  manner  and  ab 
sence  of  conventional  restraint  begotten  of  years 
in  the  boundless  West,  and  then  stood  awaiting 
the  result. 

It  came,  not  too  soothingly  or  satisfactorily. 

"  When  I  want  it,  I'll  take  it." 

The  conductor  drew  away  with  distinct  sense 
of  another  defeat.  He  stirred  up  the  porter 
with  no  gentle  touch.  "How  many  of  your 
passengers  have  got  guns  ?"  he  asked. 

The  negro  started  from  his  seat,  dazed  and 
frightened.  "  Only  two  or  three  of  'em,  that  I 
see,"  was  the  answer.  "  That  officer  in  lower 
3,  and  two  gentlemen  in  8  and  9.  What's  the 
matter?" 

"  Nothing  as  yet,  but  I've  a  good  mind  to 
wake  the  lieutenant,"  said  Jarvis,  his  fingers 
working  nervously,  as  he  glanced  about  the 
car.  The  porter's  eyes  were  big,  his  eyeballs 
staring. 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


"Wait  till  I  come  back,"  said  Mr.  Jarvis, 
presently,  and  let  himself  out  at  the  rear  door. 
The  last  sleeper  was  dark  and  silent.  Every 
curtain  seemed  drawn.  Jarvis  found  his  bunch 
of  keys,  and  after  a  few  seconds'  fumble  opened 
the  door.  The  air  within  was  close,  almost 
stifling,  for  every  section  was  occupied.  He 
found  the  porter  snoring  in  the  smoking-room, 
stirred  him  vigorously,  and  propounded  rapid 
questions.  The  bewildered  darky  answered  to 
the  point.  Some  of  the  young  men  among  his 
excursionists  might  have  pistols  in  their  grips, 
but  he'  d  only  seen  one  in  a  hip  pocket.  There 
were  ten  ladies  and  twelve  men,  he  said,  all 
unconscious  of  danger  of  any  kind,  and,  as  it 
was  a  chartered  car  and  they  were  out  for  a  long 
pleasure-trip,  no  doubt  there  was  plenty  of 
money,  to  say  nothing  of  watches  and  jewelry, 
in  the  party.  It  was  the  first  of  the  kind  that 
had  come  up  the  road  for  a  month.  Jarvis 
knew  it  had  been  well  advertised.  What  more 
likely  than  that  the  daring  fellows  who  had 
made  things  lively  on  the  other  road  should 
have  planned  to  hold  up  this  particular  train  ? 
What  better  place  could  they  select  than  the 
lonely,  rugged,  almost  mountainous  tract  be 
tween  Thunder  Gap  and  Boulder  Creek  ?  And 
if  they  weren't  already  boarding  his  train,  one 
or  two  at  a  time,  just  as  they  did  on  the  K.  P., 
then  call  him  a  Chinaman.  That  swagger  and 
stylish  young  man  at  the  Junction,  "  salooning 
72 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

the  soldiers  and  making  himself  solid  with 
them,"  the  shivering  tramp  at  Willow  Springs 
who  was  so  promptly  found  and  so  lavishly 
paid  for  and  provided  for  by  the  same  suspicious 
party  ("  Fancy  his  enlisting  !"  thought  the  con 
ductor  :  ' '  that  cock-and-bull  story  that  he  told 
Long  was  enough  to  damn  him  from  the  start"), 
and  now  these  two  cowboys  in  the  smoker, — 
fellows  that  took  supper  and  left  their  plugs  at 
Hank's  and  said  they  were  going  up  to  Pawnee 
for  a  flyer,  but  allowed  they  knew  nobody  there, 
or  in  that  part  of  the  valley.  Jarvis  felt  more 
uneasy  with  every  minute. 

"  I'm  blessed  if  I  don't  think  I  ought  to 
wake  some  of  the  likeliest  of  these  young 
fellows,"  said  he  to  the  porter;  "but  I'll  go 
and  have  out  the  lieutenant  anyhow." 

Suiting  action  to  the  word,  back  he  went  to 
the  forward  sleeper.  "Wake  the  gentleman 
in  No.  3,"  said  he  to  the  porter,  as  he  re- 
entered,  and  found  that  dusky  guardian  eagerly, 
anxiously  awaiting  him. 

"He's  gittin'  up,  suh.  I  done  call  him." 
And  at  the  moment,  rubbing  a  pair  of  bleary, 
sleepy,  red-rimmed  eyes  with  one  hand  and 
buttoning  a  cavalry  sack-coat  with  the  other, 
a  stocky,  heavily  built  man  of  about  thirty-five 
came  lurching  down  the  aisle.  Briefly  the 
conductor  told  his  suspicions  and  asked  what 
help  he  could  have  in  case  of  trouble.  The 
cavalryman  was  evidently  a  trifle  hard  to  rouse. 
73 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

He  seemed  slow  of  comprehension.  He  pon 
dered  a  bit,  looking  dumbly  from  the  conductor 
to  the  porter,  with  eyes  that  did  not  clear  as 
rapidly  as  they  should  have  done.  At  last  he 
said, — 

"One  of  them  in  this  car?'* 

"  Yes,  smoking  in  the  compartment  yonder." 

Following  the  conductor,  the  officer  mean 
dered  up  the  aisle.  The  Pullman  was  swaying 
violently  now.  The  train  had  reached  the 
summit  of  the  divide  and  was  rushing  down  the 
westward  slope  at  a  speed  that  became  swifter 
every  moment.  The  lieutenant  stopped  at  his 
berth  and  rummaged  under  a  pillow. 

"  You're  not  getting  a  gun  now  ?"  whispered 
the  conductor,  warningly. 

"No, — only  a  pocket  pistol,"  was  the  an 
swer,  as  the  blue  blouse  straightened  up  and 
produced  a  half-filled  flask. 

"  I  wish  your  men,  those  recruits,  had  arms,'* 
muttered  the  conductor,  as  they  went  on  again. 
Then  he  held  up  a  warning  hand.  They  were 
just  squeezing  through  the  narrow  passage  be 
tween  the  smoking-compartment  and  the  side 
of  the  car.  '  *  Wait  till  I  see  what  he' s  doing, ' ' 
said  Jarvis,  and  disappeared  around  the  corner. 
Presently  he  beckoned,  and,  flask  in  hand,  the 
lieutenant  followed  on,  glancing  casually  at  the 
dim  form  near  the  window,  stepped  to  the 
wash-stand  and  found  a  tumbler,  half  filled  it 
with  liquor,  and  proffered  it  to  the  conductor, 
74 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

who  shook  his  head.  The  soldier  poured  in  a 
little  water,  and  swallowed  it  all  at  a  gulp. 

"Now,"  said  he,  "  let's  have  a  look  at  your 
man." 

The  conductor  stepped  inside  the  smoker, 
feigning  to  try  to  decipher  the  writing  on  a 
card  he  held  in  his  hand,  but,  as  though  the 
light  were  too  dim,  reached  up  and  turned 
higher  the  flame,  brightly  illuminating  the  little 
compartment  in  a  moment.  Gray  may  have 
been  dozing.  He  glanced  quickly  up,  as 
though  startled,  and  his  eyes  met  those  of  the 
stout  man  in  cavalry  uniform.  For  a  moment 
they  looked  at  each  other  searchingly  and 
without  a  word.  A  flush  as  of  surprise  and 
annoyance  began  to  mount  to  the  civilian's 
face  ;  a  flush  that  was  not  of  surprise  was  al 
ready  manifest  on  that  of  the  soldier.  The 
conductor  glanced  from  one  to  the  other  as 
though  about  to  speak. 

Suddenly  the  night  was  rent  by  one  sharp, 
quick,  almost  agonized  shriek  from  the  engine, 
far  ahead.  Suddenly,  so  suddenly  that  it  al 
most  hurled  Jarvis  and  the  lieutenant  off  their 
feet,  the  air-brakes  gripped  like  a  vice,  the 
whizzing  wheels  instantly  checking  their  way, 
the  smooth,  swift  motion  changed  to  a  jerky, 
grinding,  straining  series  of  bumps.  Jarvis, 
turning  white  as  a  sheet,  sprang  to  the  door 
the  instant  he  could  recover  balance.  For 
six,  eight  seconds  the  Pullman  went  thumping 
75 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

ahead,  slower  and  slower  every  second,  yet 
still  at  dangerous  speed.  Then  came  a  thun 
derous  shock  and  crash.  Gray,  whose  feet 
were  on  the  opposite  seat,  doubled  up  like  a 
jack-knife,  his  nose  and  knees  jammed  to 
gether,  the  back  seat  clamped  tight  against 
that  in  front.  The  lieutenant  shot  forward  out 
of  sight,  and  was  overheard  fetching  up  with 
a  resounding  thump  against  the  front  door. 
There  was  a  crackling  of  window-glass,  a  sound 
of  stifled  shrieks  and  groans.  The  big  car  re 
coiled  some  thirty  or  forty  yards,  then  came  to 
a  stand-still,  and  Mr.  Gray,  scrambling  out  from 
the  smoking-compartment,  nearly  stumbled 
over  the  prostrate  officer,  who  was  slowly  find 
ing  his  feet.  But,  following  some  half-artic 
ulate  cry  for  help,  Gray  darted  through  the 
narrow  passage-way,  into  the  curtained  aisle, 
now  rapidly  filling  with  men,  much  more  dazed 
than  dressed,  some  of  them  bleeding  from  con 
tusions,  all  of  them  shaken  and  scared,  and, 
slowly  sliding  out  of  the  nearest  berth,  came  a 
blue-robed,  slender,  senseless  form, — that  of 
the  soft-voiced  occupant  who  half  an  hour 
earlier  had  importuned  him  for  water.  In  an 
instant  Gray  stooped,  raised  her  in  his  arms, 
bore  her  through  the  passage,  nearly  capsizing 
the  lieutenant  the  second  time,  laid  her  flat 
upon  the  long  seat  in  the  smoker,  and  applied 
his  fine  cambric  handkerchief  to  a  gash  in  the 
left  temple,  from  which  the  blood  was  oozing. 
76 


CHAPTER    IV. 

MELANCHOLY  scene  of  wreck  and 
disaster  was  that  which  greeted  the 
eyes  of  Mr.  Gray  when  perhaps  half  an 
hour  later  he  stepped  from  the  platform  and 
made  his  way  forward.  Through  some  strange 
neglect  of  telegraphic  orders  from  Butte,  the 
conductor  and  engineer  of  No.  12  had  not 
been  bidden  to  side-track  at  Thunder  Gap,  but 
had  been  sent  spinning  on  their  way  down 
grade  five  miles  to  Alkali  Flats,  where  the  road 
crossed  to  the  northeast  and  began  to  climb 
over  the  divide  to  Boulder  Creek,  and  right 
here,  at  the  end  of  a  straight-away  mile  of 
track,  the  head-light  of  the  Pacific  express 
flashed  into  view.  Each  engineer  sighted  the 
glaring  eye  of  the  other's  steed  at  the  same  in 
stant.  Each  sounded  his  warning  cry.  Each 
instantly  reversed  his  lever,  reckless  of  cylinder- 
heads.  Long  had  vainly  sprung  the  air-brake, 
and  No.  I2's  brakemen  had  spun  their  iron 
wheels  for  all  they  were  worth,  but  still,  with 
the  fearful  momentum  of  their  down-grade  rush, 
the  two  trains  dashed  at  each  other  like  mad 
dened  bulls,  and  engineer  and  fireman,  having 
done  all  that  mortal  men  could  do,  jumped  for 
77 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

their  lives  a  second  or  two  before  the  crash. 
The  lighter  train  of  the  two,  the  express,  had 
so  far  slackened  speed  that  Long  and  his  fire 
man,  landing  and  rolling  in  the  soft  sand,  were 
but  slightly  hurt.  The  engineer  of  the  freight, 
however,  was  tumbled  heels  over  head,  and 
then  knocked  senseless  by  a  flying  splinter. 
The  fireman  had  only  just  been  found  as  Gray 
reached  the  point  where  the  two  engines, 
locked  deep  in  each  other's  embrace,  stood 
welded  together,  a  tangled  mass  of  metal. 
The  whistle  of  one  of  them,  dislocated  by  the 
shock,  was  emitting  a  low,  moaning  sound,  as 
of  some  huge  beast  in  agony.  The  tender  of 
the  express  had  telescoped  half  its  length 
through  the  mail-car,  and  the  postal  clerk  had 
been  hauled  from  under  a  confused  heap  of 
coal  and  mail-sacks.  The  mail-car  in  turn  had 
smashed  in  the  front  of  the  express,  and  this, 
forced  flat  against  the  front  of  the  baggage-car, 
left  the  messenger  a  helpless  prisoner  within 
his  own  premises,  unable  to  open  even  a  side 
door.  How  the  baggage-man  escaped  death 
he  never  could  tell.  He  and  his  trunks  were 
hurled  to  the  front  end  of  the  car,  all  in  a 
heap,  yet,  barring  damages  to  clothing  and 
cuticle,  he  was  little  the  worse  for  the  adven 
ture.  Then  came  the  car-load  of  recruits. 
Hardly  a  man  of  their  number  had  a  whole 
skin  left.  The  seats  were  wrenched  loose,  the 
windows  were  shattered.  The  smoker,  too, 

78 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

was  a  sight ;  its  few  occupants  had  been  hurled 
about  promiscuously,  and  were  still  swearing 
when  Gray  got  to  the  front.  People  in  the 
day-coach  were  less  damaged,  but  equally 
dazed,  and  in  the  two  Pullmans  consternation 
reigned  supreme.  The  excursionists  were  all 
sound  asleep  up  to  the  instant  of  impact,  and 
those  in  the  upper  berths  had  been  tumbled 
into  the  aisle,  and  all  the  car-load  violently 
shaken.  But  in  the  forward  Pullman  the  actual 
damage  was  greater.  The  porter  was  groan 
ing  with  a  twisted  back.  Two  of  the  men 
were  badly  wrenched.  Lieutenant  Rawson 
had  a  bump  as  big  as  a  grape-shot  on  the  side 
of  his  head.  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  though  unin 
jured,  was  so  terrified  as  to  be  worse  than 
helpless,  and  as  for  the  fair  girl  with  her,  she 
had  happened  to  be  awake,  had  lifted  herself 
on  her  elbow  at  the  shriek  of  the  whistle,  fear 
ful  of  ill,  and  almost  instantly  had  been  dashed 
against  the  edge  of  the  seat  and  cruelly  stunned. 
Of  the  freight  train,  the  six  cars  immediately 
behind  the  engine  were  crushed  to  fragments, 
and  the  fragments  hurled  far  and  wide.  It  was 
from  under  a  heap  of  these  they  lugged  the 
fireman  as  Gray  appeared,  and  this  summed 
up  the  damage  to  person  and  material,  but  not 
to  nerves,  tempers,  or  records  for  piety.  The 
language  of  Mr.  Jarvis  and  his  friend  of  the 
freight  train  beggared  description.  The  cavalry 
sergeant  felt  an  access  of  envious  respect  as  he 
79 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

listened.  Lieutenant  Rawson  invited  both  to 
have  a  drink,  and  this  time  it  was  accepted. 

It  was  a  five-mile  stretch  up  to  the  Gap,  and 
much  more  than  that  back  to  Boulder,  but  news 
of  the  mishap  had  to  be  sent  and  help  sum 
moned.  It  was  then  that  Gray's  shabby  tramp 
had  come  to  the  fore.  He  had  been  warmed, 
fed,  and  rested,  as  he  had  not  been  for  a  week. 
He  was  used  to  walking,  he  said,  and  offered 
to  carry  the  conductor's  pencilled  despatch.  It 
should  have  been  sent  by  a  brakernan  of  the 
freight,  but  both  were  lamed  and  badly  bruised. 
Jarvis  looked  more  than  uncertain  at  first,  but 
finally  gave  the  man  the  important  paper. 
Twenty  minutes  later,  the  two  cowboys,  despite 
bangs  and  bruises,  declared  that  they  too  would 
"  hoof  it,"  and  pushed  ahead  through  the  pal 
lid  dawn.  Gray,  silent  and  observant,  ap 
peared  just  as  they  departed,  and  found  the 
lieutenant,  the  two  conductors,  and  the  cavalry 
sergeant  in  a  quadrangular  council.  At  sight 
of  the  new-comer  Jarvis  cautioned  silence,  and 
dissolved  the  meeting. 

The  girl  whom  Gray  had  so  promptly  and 
tenderly  cared  for  had  recovered  consciousness 
within  five  minutes.  She  looked  up,  dazed 
and  startled,  into  the  strange  face  bending 
over  her,  and  then  almost  instantly  asked  for 
Mrs.  Mainwaring. 

' '  She  is  unhurt, ' '  said  Gray,  quietly.  ' '  Don' t 
worry.  You  have  quite  a  bruise  here  on  the 
80 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

side  of  your  head.  Please  lie  still  until  I  check 
the  bleeding.  Mrs.  Mainwaring  will  be  back 
in  a  moment." 

Mrs.  Mainwaring  had  been  there,  half  dis 
tracted,  wringing  her  hands  and  laughing  and 
crying  by  turns,  and  was  now  lying  in  her 
berth,  being  ministered  to  by  some  sympa 
thetic  woman  from  the  other  car.  Another 
had  come  to  aid  Gray,  but,  seeing  how  deftly 
he  bathed  and  stanched  the  wound,  she  con 
fined  her  attentions  to  wetting  towels  and  pass 
ing  them  to  the  strange  gentleman.  So  skilful 
were  his  ministrations  that  the  young  lady 
presently  declared  herself,  able  to  sit  up  and 
walk,  and  insisted  on  seeing  Mrs.  Mainwaring. 
She  was  assisted  to  her  feet,  and,  leaning  on 
his  arm,  was  taken  to  her  friend.  Gray  left  her 
there,  slipped  quietly  away,  and  came  forth,  his 
heart  beating  with  odd  emotion. 

The  next  thing  he  found  to  do  was  to  help 
straighten  out  the  fireman  of  the  freight,  who 
was  shaking  like  an  aspen,  completely  demor 
alized  and  almost  crying.  He,  too,  had  struck 
soft  sand  when  he  leaped  from  the  train,  but 
after  a  somersault  or  two  had  been  buried  under 
an  avalanche  of  splintered  board,  distributed 
from  the  roofs,  sides,  and  flooring  of  the  shat 
tered  cars.  The  heavy  trucks,  wheels,  and 
beams  fortunately  had  not  been  hurled  more 
than  a  dozen  yards  from  the  track,  but  kind 
ling-wood  in  distracting  quantities  had  been 
6  81 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

showered  far  and  near.  The  handsome  silver- 
topped  flask,  so  admired  of  the  sergeant  at  the 
Junction,  was  promptly  produced,  and  the  fire 
man  took  a  long,  long  pull.  Then  Gray  be 
thought  him  of  his  tramp.  The  recruits  and 
passengers  mingling  in  confused  knot  with  the 
damaged  men  were  still  grouped  about  the 
wreck,  some  detailing  personal  impressions  and 
experiences,  some  noisy  and  nervous,  others 
silent  and  doubtless  thankful  for  their  escape, 
others  still  thinking  only  of  the  injured.  Of 
these  latter  was  Gray,  at  whom  the  conductor 
was  scowling  suspiciously  the  while,  and  saying 
something  in  a  low  tone  to  the  lieutenant. 

1 '  Do  you  know  what  became  of  that  poor 
fellow  we  picked  up  at  Willow  Springs  ?' '  asked 
Gray  of  the  brakeman,  who  was  ruefully  con 
templating  a  ruined  lantern.  The  man  looked 
up  instantly,  but,  instead  of  answering,  turned 
and  glanced  significantly  at  the  conductor. 

' '  If  you  want  him, ' '  said  the  latter,  coolly, 
"  you'll  have  to  follow  the  track  five  miles  or 
more.  Perhaps  you  knew  the  two  that  went 
after  him.  Birds  of  a  feather,  I  take  it, — 
bound  for  the  Gap  and  a  spree  on  what's  left 
of  that  ten-dollar  bill." 

"I'm  very  glad  to  hear  he  isn't  hurt,"  said 
Gray.  "You've  sent  for  help,  I  presume ?" 

"I've  sent  a  message  by  that  tramp  friend 
of  yours,  if  that's  what  you  mean.     None  of 
my  crew  or  the  freight  could  walk  a  mile. 
82 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


All  this  time  Lieutenant  Rawson  stood  aloof, 
his  forage-cap  pulled  down  over  his  brows,  in 
tently  eying  the  stylishly  dressed  man  in  tweeds. 
Gray  became  conscious  of  the  scrutiny,  and  it 
annoyed  him.  Of  the  passengers  in  the  day- 
coach  none  were  men  whom  he  would  have 
been  at  all  likely  to  meet  on  equal  terms  in  his 
past.  Among  those  of  the  forward  sleeper 
only  two  or  three  appeared  to  be  men  of  edu 
cation  or  social  standing,  and  they  were  nursing 
their  bruises  back  in  the  lavatory.  The  young 
fellows  of  the  rear  Pullman  were  laughing  and 
chatting  noisily  together  as  they  rummaged 
about  the  wreck.  The  officer  was  the  one  man 
aboard  the  train  whom  ordinarily  Gray  would 
have  felt  inclined  to  address.  But  while  the 
uniform  and  the  assurance  of  at  least  a  certain 
social  standing  on  the  part  of  its  wearer  at 
tracted  him,  there  was  that  in  Rawson' s  face 
which  repelled.  Nor  was  this  wholly  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  lacked  refinement  and  was  a 
trifle  bloated, — that  the  eyes  were  somewhat 
dull  and  clouded  ;  but  in  them  Gray  read  un 
erringly  an  expression  of  distrust,  even  of  hos 
tility,  and  the  pugnacious  in  him  was  aroused 
at  once. 

All  of  a  sudden  he  recalled  that  the  porter 
had  told  him  Mrs.  Mainwaring  was  an  army 
lady ;  so,  doubtless,  was  the  young  lady  with 
her.  Very  possibly  the  lieutenant  was  their 
escort,  and  the  escort  was  wrathful  over  his 

83 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

usurpation  of  an  escort's  functions,  so  far  as 
the  damsel  was  concerned.  Gray  could  not 
remember  the  officer's  busying  himself  in  any 
way  to  aid  Mrs.  Mainwaring.  True,  he  was 
still  half  stunned,  and  was  bathing  his  bruises, 
while  Gray  was  caring  for  the  very  attractive 
if  somewhat  dishevelled  girl  in  the  pale-blue 
wrapper.  Something  in  the  contemplation  of 
his  loneliness  and  isolation  during  the  earlier 
night — a  man  without  a  home,  the  would-be 
sharer  of  the  fireman's  seat,  the  companion 
of  the  rude  soldiery,  the  aider  and  abettor  of 
tramps — and  the  exaltation  of  his  present, 
tickled  his  sense  of  the  humorous.  Had  he 
not  won  the  gratitude,  the  almost  effusive 
thanks,  of  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  the  eloquent,  if 
silent,  recognition  of  a  very  pretty  girl,  and 
now  the  undoubted  jealousy  and  dislike  of  an 
army  officer  ?  "There's  some  fun  left  in  life, 
even  now,"  was  his  grim  comment,  as  he 
calmly  studied  Rawson's  reddening  face,  gazing 
speculatively  into  the  latter 's  shifting  eyes  until 
uneasily  they  turned  away. 

The  gray  dawn  was  sheeting  the  slopes  about 
them,  and  farther  to  the  west  the  mountain-tops 
loomed,  dim,  pallid,  and  white  with  snow. 
Fine,  soft  flakes  were  sifting  down  even  here, 
and  Long's  prediction  was  being  verified. 
That  faithful  soldier  of  his  country  and  "the 
Road"  was  now  stretched  on  the  flat  of  his 
back  on  the  floor  of  the  baggage-car,  with 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


some  car-seats  for  mattress,  pluckily  stifling 
the  moan  of  pain  that  would  have  forced  itself 
through  his  set  teeth.  To  him  came  the  younger 
soldier,  the  sergeant,  full  of  sympathy. 

"You're  badly  shaken,  Mr.  Long  :  wouldn't 
a  little  whiskey  help  you  ?' '  said  he,  the  cavalry 
cure-all  of  the  old  days  most  naturally  suggest 
ing  itself. 

"  I  don't  know  but  what  it  would,"  groaned 
the  engineer.  "  The  lieutenant  has  some, 
hasn't  he  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  has,"  was  the  half-hesitant  reply. 
Then  the  freemasonry  of  the  craft  seemed  to 
show  in  the  look  that  followed,  half  comical, 
half  confiding,  but  all  significant.  « '  But — he 
ain't  the  sort  of  man  I'd  ask  for  anything. 
'Tain't  like  as  if  it  was  Captain  Ray  or  Blake 
or  Truscott  or  any  of  them  was  here,  you 
know.  But — I  can  find  you  some  all  right." 

And,  jumping  from  the  car,  Sergeant  Kear 
ney  went  straight  to  Mr.  Gray.  ' '  Our  engi 
neer,  sir, ' '  said  he,  ' '  is  badly  stove  up.  Could 
you  oblige  me  with  a  little  whiskey  ?' ' 

"  Certainly,"  said  Gray,  going  down  into  his 
pocket  and  fishing  up  the  silver-topped  flask. 
"Give  him  a  good  swig,  and,  sergeant,  help 
yourself." 

The  sergeant  grinned,  thanked  him,  hurried 
back  to  his  new  friend,  and  gave  him  what  he 
called  an  honest  cavalry  four  fingers. 

"God  !"  said  Long,  smacking  his  lips,  his 

85 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

eyes  snapping.  "That  was  an  old-timer/' 
Then,  as  the  potent  liquor,  long  a  stranger  to 
his  once  casehardened  system,  began  glowingly 
to  assert  itself,  he  blinked  his  gratitude  and 
looked  admiringly  at  the  handsome  flask. 
"That's  a  swell  stopper  you've  got  to  that 
canteen,  sergeant.  Where'  d  you  capture  it  ?'  * 

' '  Tall  young  fellow  in  the  first  sleeper. 
Seems  to  have  money  and  whiskey,  cigars  and 
good  nature,  till  you  can't  rest,"  said  Kearney, 
in  the  vernacular  of  the  day,  and  was  surprised 
at  Long' s  sudden  interest.  The  engineer  braced 
himself  up  on  an  elbow,  all  eagerness. 

"  Smooth  face,  with  light  moustache,  regu 
lar  six-footer,  slim,  broad-shouldered,  travel 
ling-cap  and  big  ulster?" 

' '  That' s  the  feller.  Treated  half  my  squad 
to  pie  and  coffee  back  there  at  the  Junction. 

No  end  of  a  swell,  I Why,  what' s  amiss  ? 

Say,  I  wouldn't  take  another  drink  just  now, 
would  you  ?' '  he  broke  off,  anxiously,  for  Long 
was  reaching  for  the  flask. 

' '  I  want  to  see  the  monogram,  or  whatever 
you  call  it,  on  that  silver  stopper.  D'ye  know 
what  I  think  of  that  feller?  He's  first-cousin 
or  twin  brother  to  the  foxiest  gang  of  bank- 
and  train-robbers  in  the  whole  country,  and  if 
we  hadn't  run  over  or  run  our  nose  slap  into 
No.  12  right  here  at  Alkali  Flats,  I'm  betting 
my  bottom  dollar  we'd  have  found  his  gang 
waiting  for  us  back  of  Thunder  Gap." 
86 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

Kearney  drew  back,  startled.  Long  had 
seized  the  flask,  and  was  studying  the  stopper 
with  keen  interest.  No  wonder  he  couldn't 
decipher  it.  There  was  no  monogram.  In 
stead  there  was  a  queer-shaped  shield  with  di 
agonal  lines  and  odd  little  figures,  like  tiny 
leaves  cut  on  the  surface,  and  above  it  was  the 
paw  of  an  animal  grasping  a  dagger,  and  there 
was  a  scroll  with  some  words  in  a  foreign 
tongue,  Long  knew  not  what.  He  searched 
the  cup  of  silver  that  fitted  on  the  base,  but 
that  was  smooth  and  polished.  The  red  Rus 
sia  leather  covering  also  bore  no  mark. 

"That  don't  look  like  a  train-robber/ '  said 
Kearney,  pointing  to  the  device  on  the  top  of 
the  stopper.  "  Ain't  that  what  you  call  a  coat 
of  arms,  or  something  ?" 

' '  Exactly ;  and  what' s  an  American  doing 
with  a  coat  of  arms  ?  He's  lifted  it  from  some 
dook  or  other,  touring  through  the  West  for 
buffalo  and  Indians.  He's  a  slick  one,  ser 
geant,  but  he  can't  fool  me.  Why,  he  just 
gave  himself  dead  away  when  he  told  me  he 
wanted  to  ride  up  with  me  and  Scut  in  the  cab, 
pretending  he  was  out  here  to  enlist  in  the  cav 
alry  and  wanted  to  talk  with  me  about  the  offi 
cers  that  were  coming  there  to  Ransom.  Yes, 
sir."  And  Long  grinned  sardonically,  despite 
his  pain. 

Kearney's  answer  was  a  long  whistle  of 
amazement. 

87 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"  You'd  never  have  got  me  to  believe  it  if  he 
hadn't  made  that  break.  Fancy  a  swell  like 
him  a-grooming  horses  and  cleaning  out  stalls. 
Hush,"  suddenly  lowering  his  voice,  for  at  the 
instant  Mr.  Gray  came  briskly  into  the  car. 

The  dawn  was  so  far  advanced  that  the  night- 
lights  were  no  longer  needed  and  were  burning 
blear  and  dim.  The  battered  baggage-man,  in 
no  pleasant  humor,  because  an  excursionist 
from  the  rear  Pullman,  with  ill-timed  jocularity, 
had  asked  him  how  he  liked  the  taste  of  his 
own  medicine,  was  muttering  profane  com 
ment  on  excursionists  in  general  and  this  one 
in  particular,  as  he  took  down  the  nearest  lamp 
and  extinguished  it.  Gray's  tall  figure,  bereft 
now  of  the  ulster,  was  outlined  against  the 
brighter  light  at  the  rear  door  as  he  entered,  and 
Long  turned  his  head  and  stared  at  him  curi 
ously.  For  a  moment,  coming  as  he  did  from 
the  outer  air  where  it  was  now  almost  broad 
daylight,  though  the  sun  was  not  yet  peeping 
over  the  eastern  horizon,  the  new-comer  was 
not  quite  sure  whether  the  dark  object  on  the 
floor  was  or  was  not  the  engineer,  but  he  spoke 
cheerily. 

"I'm  looking  for  Mr.  Long,"  he  said.  "I 
hear  he1  s  badly  wrenched.  Ah,  there  you  are. 
How  are  you  feeling  ?' ' 

"As  well  as  a  man  can  who's  turned  half  a 
dozen  somersaults  in  the  mud.    You  can  thank 
God  you  didn't  get  aboard  the  cab." 
88 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"  I  can  indeed,"  laughed  Gray.  "I've  never 
practised  mounting  and  dismounting  at  a  gallop 
from  a  locomotive,  though  I've  tried  it  often 
enough  from  my  horse. ' ' 

Mr.  Long  winked  expressively  at  Kearney, 
as  though  he  would  say,  ' '  Now  watch  out  for  a 
lie, ' '  and  promptly  popped  the  question. 

"  So  you  thought  you'd  join  the  cavalry  on 
that  account,  did  you  ?' ' 

And,  to  the  amazement  of  Sergeant  Kearney 
and  the  incredulous  disdain  of  Mr.  Long,  the 
calm  reply  was,  "That's  what  I'm  going  to 
Butte  for.  I  expect  to  be  at  squad  drill  in  a 
day  or  two.  Possibly  the  sergeant  here  will  be 
giving  me  my  setting  up,"  said  he,  turning 
frankly  and  smilingly  to  Kearney. 

' '  You  talk  as  though  you  knew  the  drill  al 
ready,  sir,"  said  the  sergeant,  still  unable  to 
credit  the  statement,  yet  powerless  against  the 
gay,  frank  good  humor  of  the  civilian  ;  ' '  and 
it  isn't  the  likes  of  you  that  generally  take  a 
blanket.' ' 

"  Oh,  I  used  to  shoulder  arms  in  the  militia, " 
laughed  Gray,  "  and  do  the  four  exercises,  but 
I'm  green  as  any  recruit  in  your  party,  as  you'll 
probably  find  out,  if  you're  going  to  Ransom." 

Kearney  looked  at  Long,  and  Long  glared  at 
Kearney.  This  was  simply  too  brazen  a  fraud 
for  the  engineer's  patience. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  a  man  who  wears 
clothes  like  them  and  carries  a  flask  like  this 
89 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

can't  find  any  easier  way  of  making  a  living  ?" 
said  he. 

"Positive  fact,"  laughed  Gray,  debonair  as 
before.  "  I'm  at  the  end  of  my  tether,  or  soon 
will  be,  and  I've  come  all  the  way  out  here  for 
no  other  purpose. ' ' 

"  Why  didn't  you  save  your  money  and  'list 
in  the  East,  where  you  came  from  ?' '  asked 
Long,  prodding  Kearney  with  his  toe  to  call 
attention  to  his  astuteness. 

"For  the  simplest  of  reasons.  Had  I  en 
listed  there  they  might  have  sent  me  to  any 
regiment,  whereas  I  wanted  a  particular  one, — 
the  — th,  in  fact." 

Long  had  lost  another  point,  but  rallied.  His 
tone  was  gruff  as  Mainwaring's  as  he  returned 
to  the  attack  :  "  One  would  suppose  a  feller — 
a  man  like  you  could  command  influence 
enough  to  get  assigned  to  any  regiment  he 
wanted.  That  ain't  much  of  a  trick." 

"  No,"  answered  Gray,  as  he  seated  himself 
on  the  conductor's  big  wooden  chest  and  care 
lessly  swung  his  slender  foot ;  "no,  I  don't  be 
lieve  I've  got  either  friends  or  influence,  or  any 
thing  in  the  wide  world,  but — what  I've  got  on 
and  what's  in  an  old  trunk  somewhere  along 
the  road  here. ' ' 

"Didn't  you  say  something  about  quitting 
railroading  to  take  up  soldiering?"  queried 
Long,  so  astonished  that  he  was  forgetting  his 
pain. 

90 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"  I  did.  Two  years  ago  I  did  some  railroad 
ing  at  the  general  manager's  end  of  the  line. 
So  you  see  how  little  I  must  have  known  about 
it.  Yes,"  he  went  on,  with  twinkling  eyes,  "  I 
used  to  ride  my  own  horse,  but  I've  lost  him, 
so  it's  got  to  be  one  of  Uncle  Sam's." 

For  a  moment  nothing  further  was  said.  A 
pair  of  frank  blue  eyes  were  gazing  smilingly 
down  into  the  engineer's  face,  and  that  ex- 
trooper  could  find  no  excuse  for  another  ex 
pression  of  doubt.  Slowly  he  held  forth  the 
half-emptied  flask. 

' '  Here, ' '  said  he,  ' '  take  this.  I'm  damned 
if  you're  not  too  many  for  me.  But,"  a  sudden 
thought  striking  him,  "why  don't  you  sell  this 
and  your  watch  and  them  clothes  and  go  to  the 
mines  and  make  a  stake  there  ?' ' 

"  Because  I'd  rather  soldier,  man,"  was  the 
smiling  answer, — Gray's  good  humor  was  in 
domitable, — "  and  down  in  the  bottom  of  your 
heart  you  know  perfectly  well  you  never  see  the 
uniform,' '  and  here  he  laid  a  hand  on  Kearney's 
shoulder,  "that  you  don't  more  than  half  wish 
you  were  in  it  again  and  riding  the  trail  or  the 
prairie  rather  than  the  iron  track.  I  don't  have 
to  sell  anything  yet,"  he  added,  with  almost  a 
laugh.  "  Keep  the  whiskey,  Mr.  Long.  You've 
more  need  of  it  than  I  have.  I'll  see  you  again 
after  a  while."  And  with  that  he  rose,  and, 
nodding  smilingly  to  Kearney,  sauntered  from 
the  car. 

9* 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"Well,  if  that's  a  train-robber,"  said  the 
latter,  as  he  reached  and  took  the  flask  from 
Long's  unresisting  hand,  "here's" — the  top 
came  off  and  the  flask  was  lifted  to  his  lips — 
"here's  long  life  to  him." 

Late  that  morning  the  relief  train  came  down 
from  Pawnee,  the  East-bound  express  at  its 
heels.  Passengers  and  baggage  were  laboriously 
transferred  from  one  train  to  the  other  around 
the  scene  of  the  wreck.  Mr.  Long,  bidding 
mournful  adieu  to  No.  783,  asked  Sergeant 
Kearney  to  see  that  the  now  empty  flask  was 
returned  to  the  tall  feller  that  talked  of  enlist 
ing.  "  He  may  talk  till  hell  freezes  over,"  said 
Long,  ' '  but  not  till  I  see  him  in  uniform  will  I 
believe  he  isn't  lying,  and  even  then  I'll  mis 
doubt  him  for  a  reformed  train-robber  or  an 
escaped  lunatic." 

But  of  this  and  other  unflattering  comments 
Mr.  Gray  was  unconscious.  By  eight  o'clock 
some  railway-men  arrived  from  the  Gap  on  a 
hand-car,  proving  that  the  suspected  tramp  had 
at  least  delivered  his  despatches.  People  were 
getting  hungry  by  that  time,  and  it  presently 
transpired  that  "the  tall  gent"  in  the  first 
sleeper  was  going  back  with  the  hand-car  to  see 
what  he  could  buy  and  send  to  them,  as  it  would 
be  noon  perhaps  before  the  wrecking-train,  etc., 
would  come.  Then  the  porter  addressed  Mr. 
Gray  with  a  message.  Mrs.  Mainwaring  begged 
to  see  the  gentleman  before  he  started. 
92 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

She  was  calm  and  collected  now,  and  evi 
dently  ashamed  of  the  trouble  she  had  given. 
The  young  lady  was  seated  by  an  open  win 
dow,  languidly  drinking  in  the  fresh  air,  a 
silken  handkerchief  bound  about  her  head. 

"We  are  so  very  much  indebted  to  you," 
said  the  matron,  rising  at  the  entrance  of  the 
young  man,  "and  both  my  niece,  Miss  Leroy, 
and  I  wished  to  thank  you  before  we  parted. 
I  am  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  and  my  husband, 
Major  Mainwaring,  whom  I  expect  to  meet  to 
day,  will  be  glad  to  add  his  thanks  to  mine,  if 
you  will  kindly  give  me  your  address." 

"I  assure  you  the  thanks  are  unnecessary. 
I  am  only  to  happy  to  have  been  of  the  faint 
est  service.  I  am  awfully  clumsy,  I  fear," 
said  Gray,  smiling,  as  his  eyes  wandered  to 
Miss  Leroy 's  face.  She  was  leaning  forward 
now  and  extending  the  pretty  white  hand  he 
had  so  admired  much  earlier  that  morning. 

"And  I  want  to  say,  yet  I  don't  know  how 
to  say,  how  very  much  I  thank  you, ' '  she  mur 
mured,  her  words  falling  hesitatingly,  "and 

Pray,  do  not  think  me  impertinent,  but 

did  I  not  see  you — were  you  not  on  the  Rhine 
last  May  ?" 

His  whole  manner  seemed  to  change  in 
stantly.  Quiet  good  humor  and  courtesy  gave 
place  to  embarrassment,  even  awkwardness. 

"It  was — possibly  a  brother  of  mine,"  he 
faltered.  "  I — I  hope  you'll  have  a  very 
93 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

pleasant  journey.  Such  ill  luck,  thus  far,  you 

know ' '  He  barely  touched  the  extended 

hand.  "Good-by.  Good-by,  Mrs.  Main- 
waring.  They — they're  waiting  for  me  with 
that  hand-car."  And  in  an  instant  he  was 
hastening  away. 

"  But  you  haven't  told  us  your  name  or  your 
address,"  persisted  the  elder  lady. 

"Oh,  it's  of  no  consequence. — You  remem 
ber  Mr.  Toots,  don't  you  ?"  he  called  back  over 
his  shoulder,  as  he  made  his  escape  from  the 
car.  But  on  the  platform  without  the  flitting 
smile  vanished,  and  his  face  grew  gray  and 
sad,  as  he  stopped  and  took  a  long,  long 
breath. 

"Lesson  number  one,  and  a  tough  one, 
Darcy,  my  boy,"  he  panted.  "  My  God,  what 
is  my  name  to  be  now  ?'  * 


94 


CHAPTER   V. 

j[HE  — th  had  been  having  what  Captain 
Ray  called  a  "  poky"  time  most  of  that 
year,  and  when  Ray' s  usually  sunny  na 
ture  clouded  over  something  was  sure  to  be 
amiss  with  the  professional  side  of  the  man. 
His  domestic  side  was  perennial  joy.  The 
regiment  had  known  many  a  hard  winter,  many 
a  fierce  summer,  many  a  sharp  campaign  and 
savage  battle.  Its  long  exile  in  Arizona  in  the 
old  days  was  full  of  peril  and  suffering.  Its 
sometimes  desperate  encounters  with  the  red 
warriors  of  the  northern  plains  and  mountains 
had  made  sad  inroads  on  its  membership.  Its 
records  of  casualties  embraced  every  conceiv 
able  catastrophe  :  death  by  sunstroke,  starva 
tion,  freezing,  lightning,  flood,  fire,  rattlesnakes, 
explosions,  thirst,  arrow  and  tomahawk,  shot, 
sabre,  and  shell.  A  peaceful  year  it  never 
knew  from  the  day  of  its  first  muster  on  the 
plains  of  Texas  until  a  quarter-century  after, 
when,  miribile  dictu,  there  hadn't  even  been 
a  horse-thief  to  follow  or  an  Indian  to  chase 
until,  late  in  the  summer,  it  occurred  to  a 
band  of  Cheyennes  to  ride  northward  and  call 
95 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

on  some  kindred  up  in  the  Powder  River 
country,  and  these  children  of  nature  never 
thought  of  asking  anybody's  leave.  The  — th 
had  been  having,  as  Ray  said,  so  poky  a  time 
at  Russell — just  drilling,  drilling,  drilling  on 
that  wide  sweep  of  upland  prairie,  instead  of 
scouting  and  fighting  through  the  mountains, 
their  normal  summer  recreation — that  the  regi 
ment  shouted  for  very  joy  when  it  heard  that 
Sharp-Knife,  the  young  Hotspur  that  headed 
the  raid,  had  soundly  thrashed  the  first  detach 
ment  sent  to  head  him  off,  and,  indignant  at 
the  discourtesy  of  the  Great  Father  in  essaying 
to  curb  his  inclination  to  roam,  was  helping 
himself  to  all  the  horned  cattle,  horses,  and 
household  goods  that  lay  in  his  way,  not  to 
mention  a  few  of  the  households,  and  was  ca 
reering  onward  bound  for  a  big  time  in  the  Big 
Horn  Mountains,  bragging  to  the  Northern 
Cheyennes  of  the  fun  he  had  had. 

Then  away  went  Colonel  Atherton,  with 
Stannard  and  Mainwaring,  the  old  and  the  new 
majors,  and  eight  "  husky"  troops,  full  tilt  for 
the  Hills,  only  to  find  when  they  reached  the 
broad  valley  of  the  Ska  that  Sharp- Knife  and 
his  shifty  followers  had  crossed  forty-eight 
hours  ahead  and  were  circling  westward  across 
the  Little  Missouri  by  that  time.  Never  is  a 
stern  chase  so  long  a  chase  as  when  the  Indian 
has  the  lead.  The  department  commander 
followed  by  rail,  stage-coach,  and  buckboard, 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

and  half  the  troops  in  the  Territories  of  Dakota, 
Montana,  and  Wyoming  were  centring  on  the 
Cheyennes,  when  Sharp-Knife  cut  loose  from 
all  semblance  of  a  base  and  took  to  the  woods 
in  earnest.  His  people  scattered  to  the  four 
winds.  Some  hid  among  the  northern  bands 
of  the  same  tribe,  some  slipped  in  among  the 
Sioux  at  the  great  reservations  in  Dakota,  others 
scattered  far  and  wide,  broke  up  into  little 
squads  of  three  or  four,  and  even  less,  and 
jogged  back  by  circuitous  routes  to  the  southern 
plains,  and  swore  they'd  only  been  hunting 
along  the  Arkansas.  There's  only  one  crea 
ture  that  can  beat  an  Indian, — murder  one 
minute  and  look  the  image  of  piety  the 
next, — and  that's  a  cat.  It  was  "a  poky 
summer,"  said  Ray,  at  Russell.  It  was  poor 
kind  of  campaigning,  said  that  same  author 
ity,  but  better  than  none.  It  was  the  move 
that  followed  that  stirred  the  social  fabric  of 
the  — th  to  its  foundations.  The  regiment  had 
been  stationed  for  some  years  at  Russell,  a  big 
post  on  the  Union  Pacific,  but  the  department 
commander  decided  that  he  wanted  Atherton 
and  his  seasoned  campaigners  closer  to  the 
malcontents,  and,  to  the  unspeakable — not 
speechless — indignation  of  nine-tenths  of  the 
ladies  in  the  — th  and  the  financial,  though  un- 
confessed,  comfort  of  many  of  their  lords,  the 
order  was  issued  that  it  should  not  return  to 
Russell,  but  direct  its  retrograde  march  on  the 
7  97 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

older,  smaller,  but  just  now  rather  more  im 
portant  post  of  Fort  Ransom. 

' '  Squeeze  into  quarters  as  best  you  can, ' ' 
said  the  general,  cheerfully,  "and  you  won't 
mind  crowding  this  winter.  We'll  fit  you  out 
better  in  the  spring. ' ' 

Now,  the  winter  was  the  time  they  most  ob 
jected  to  being  crowded,  for  then  they  had 
their  friends  from  the  East  and  their  social 
pleasures,  did  these  dames  and  damsels  of  the 
army,  while  in  summer  the  troops  were  almost 
always  afield,  and  the  women,  those  who  could 
afford  it,  went  East.  Few  had  done  so  this 
year,  because  the  regiment  was  not  sent  out  for 
summer  camp,  and  when  the  Sharp-Knife 
chase  was  ordered  it  was  too  late  in  the  season. 

So  the  two  battalions,  then  so  called,  marched 
into  Ransom.  Then,  so  many  at  a  time,  the 
officers  were  allowed  to  go  to  Russell  to  super 
vise  the  packing  and  shipment  of  their  house 
hold  goods,  while  the  quartermaster  and  other 
sergeants  did  as  much  for  the  companies. 
Mrs.  Atherton,  with  her  lares  and  penates,  was 
there  at  Butte  to  welcome  the  regiment  when 
it  arrived.  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  with  her  fair 
niece,  Miss  Leroy,  was  to  have  been  there, 
but,  as  we  have  seen,  became  involved  in  a 
collision  in  the  mountain  division.  The  major 
hurried  eastward  to  meet  his  helpmate  at  Paw 
nee,  and  there  got  full  details  of  the  crash, 
and  sought  among  the  passengers  for  the  young 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

man  in  the  ulster  and  travelling-cap  who  had 
been  so  helpful  in  time  of  need,  but  he  had 
disappeared,  said  the  conductor  who  took  Mr. 
Jarvis's  load.  The  last  seen  of  him  he  was 
taking  dinner  at  Ford' s  restaurant  with  a  couple 
of  cowboys  and  a  dilapidated  party  who  had 
been  fellow-passengers  with  him  on  No.  3  at 
the  time  of  the  wreck.  Then  the  cowboys  had 
gone  one  way  and  the  young  man  another. 
Sergeant  Kearney,  who  under  Lieutenant  Raw- 
son  was  in  charge  of  the  recruits,  said,  begging 
the  new  major's  pardon,  that  the  conductor  and 
engineer  of  No.  3  were  sure  there  was  something 
queer  about  that  party.  It  was  believed  they 
were  all  connected  with  a  gang  of  train-rob 
bers.  Whereat  the  major  scoffed  until  Raw- 
son  came  up  and  corroborated  what  Kearney 
had  said,  and  was  presented  by  the  major  to 
his  wife  and  Miss  Leroy,  who  were  not  over- 
cordial.  Women  learn  so  much  more  about 
their  fellow-passengers  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  than  do  men.  Then  the  major,  in  his 
happy  way,  went  on  to  chaff  the  wife  of  his 
bosom  upon  her  having  nearly  captured  a 
train-robber,  and  then  Miss  Leroy  spoke  her 
mind.  She  didn't  believe  a  word  of  it. 

At  Butte,  where  they  arrived  late  at  night, 
while  the  major  was  bustling  about  after  the 
ambulance  and  baggage- wagons,  Mrs.  Main- 
waring,  sitting  at  an  open  window  and  gazing 
out  at  the  flitting  lights  on  the  platform  and 
99 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


awaiting  the  summons  to  leave  the  car,  was 
suddenly  attracted  by  the  sight  of  a  little  de 
tachment  of  recruits  marching  by.  The  young 
lady,  too,  was  at  a  near  window,  and  the  ser 
geant,  catching  a  glimpse  of  her  face,  remem 
bered  the  conversation  he  had  heard  at  Pawnee 
and  her  prompt  defence  of  the  absent,  and  he 
had  felt  ill  at  ease  and  shame-stricken  ever 
since.  What  right  had  he  to  brand  a  man  as 
a  criminal  on  the  mere  suspicion  of  some  rail 
way  employees?  The  young  lady's  spirited 
stand  in  defence  of  the  defamed  had  aston 
ished  the  major  and  delighted  Kearney.  A 
sudden  thought  struck  the  honest  trooper,  as 
he  was  marching  by,  and,  springing  quickly  to 
the  side  of  the  car,  he  held  up  to  the  window 
the  handsome  silver-topped  flask.  "I  beg 
pardon,"  said  he,  "but  this  belongs  to  that 
young  gentleman.  I  was  to  have  given  it  to 
him,  but  I've  got  to  return  to  St.  Louis  to  the 
recruiting  depot,  and  he's  stopped  back  there 
about  Pawnee.  He  never  came  on  this  train 
at  all,  but  he  declared  he  was  coming  up  to 
Fort  Ransom  later.  Would  you  please  give  it 
to  him,  miss  ?' ' 

And,  before  she  knew  what  to  say,  the  ser 
geant  was  gone,  and  there  she  sat  with  the 
stranger's  flask  in  her  gloved  hand, — the 
stranger  whom  she  could  have  sworn  she  saw 
at  Bonn  and  Cologne  not  four  months  before, 
— who  thought  it  might  have  been  his  brother, 

100 


RAY 

who  wouldn't  give  his  name/ but  who  had  for 
gotten  the  handkerchief  with  which  he  had 
stanched  the  flow  of  blood  from  her  temple, — 
an  unsightly  relic  at  the  moment,  to  be  sure, 
but  safely  stowed  in  her  little  satchel  for  all 
that,  and  already  searched,  and  not  vainly,  for 
a  trace  of  ownership.  Bathed  in  her  own 
blood  were  the  letters  D.  H.  G. 

And  what  on  earth  she  was  to  do  with  that 
handsome  flask  and  that  once  more  presenta 
ble  handkerchief  was  a  problem  that  confronted 
Miss  Leroy  two  weeks  later,  after  she  had  be 
gun  to  feel  reasonably  at  home  at  Ransom.  It 
was  the  queerest  phase  of  life  that  ever  she  had 
encountered.  City-bred,  convent-educated,  she 
found  frontier  ways  at  an  army  post  as  full  of 
novelty  and  sensation  as  her  first  explorations 
in  foreign  parts.  For  two  or  three  days  they 
had  lived  at  the  hotel  in  Butte  until  the  major 
reported  the  carpets  down  and  the  stoves  up. 
The  next  two  or  three  were  devoted  to  unpack 
ing  furniture,  pictures,  glass,  and  crockery, 
and  putting  everything  where  it  belonged  and 
much  where  it  didn't.  It  seemed  to  make 
little  difference,  for  in  all  these  functions,  at  all 
hours  of  the  day,  and  not  a  few  of  the  night, 
the  young  officers,  in  shirt-sleeves  and  the  best 
of  spirits,  bore  willing  part.  Such  gay  good 
humor,  such  utter  lack  of  stiffness  and  con 
ventionality,  she  had  never  seen.  All  drills 
and  duties,  it  seemed,  except  the  necessary 
101 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

guard,  police,  and  stables,  were  suspended 
until  officers  and  men  were  comfortably  housed 
and  settled  down.  The  bachelor  lieutenants 
pitched  tents  on  the  parade  and  placidly 
awaited  their  turn  to  choose  quarters,  a  cere 
mony  which  impressed  Miss  Leroy  as  some 
thing  incomprehensible.  It  was  not  easy  to 
make  her  realize  just  why  Captain  Ray  couldn't 
move  Mrs.  Ray  and  the  baby  boys  up  from  the 
hotel  until  Captain  Freeman  had  chosen,  and 
why  Mrs.  Blake  should  remain  at  Cheyenne 
near  her  own  old  home  until  the  Truscotts  and 
Rays  had  settled  on  what  houses  they  would 
take.  (They  wanted  the  big  double  brick  next 
but  one  to  the  colonel's,  but  were  afraid  to 
move  in,  lest  the  new  surgeon  ordered  out  from 
Omaha  should  take  a  fancy  to  that  very  set.) 
It  was  all  plain  sailing,  as  she  could  see,  for  the 
colonel,  the  two  majors,  and  the  two  senior 
captains,  but  then  came  the  tug  of  war.  The 
Greggs  had  moved  into  No.  5,  confident  the 
doctor  would  prefer  the  other  side  of  the  gar 
rison,  the  very  house  the  Truscotts  and  Rays 
thought  to  occupy  together,  but  the  doctor 
came,  saw,  and  concluded  that  the  house  he 
and  Mrs.  Doctor  wanted  was  No.  5  and  no 
other,  whereat  Mrs.  Gregg  was  furious,  and  the 
captain  philosophic.  "  I  told  you  so,  M'riar," 
he  was  unfeeling  enough  to  say  a  dozen  times 
a  day,  until  she  flew  to  the  Stannards  for  sym 
pathy.  It  seemed  to  Miss  Leroy  that  whether 
102 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

these  families  got  settled  or  not  the  feuds  never 
would  be  ;  and  yet  in  less  than  ten  days  even 
the  young  married  couples  were  snugly  stowed 
away.  Smiles  and  sunshine  met  her  on  every 
side.  The  men,  who  looked  like  hairy  mon 
sters  at  first,  had  shaved  their  beards  and 
donned  their  neatly  fitting  uniforms.  The 
band  played  every  afternoon.  Parades  were 
fine,  guard-mounting  "lovely."  The  little 
dinners  and  suppers  and  dances  were  just  as 
jolly,  friendly,  and  delightful  as  could  possibly 
be.  Many  of  the  young  matrons  were  charm 
ing  companions.  Several  of  the  young  officers 
danced  divinely,  all  of  them  rode  well,  and 
none  of  them  thought  anything  of  coming 
banging  at  the  hall  door  any  hour  of  the  day 
to  ask  Mrs.  Mainwaring  to  come  and  do  this  or 
Miss  Leroy  to  come  and  see  that.  The  ladies 
ran  in  and  out  from  house  to  house  as  though 
it  were  one  big  family,  and  before  the  loth  of 
November  came  Miss  Leroy  found  herself  com 
pletely  carried  away  by  the  life  and  swing  and 
movement  that  seemed  to  characterize  every 
thing  that  went  on  in  the  old  regiment.  She 
was  on  the  pleasantest  of  terms  with  Mesdames 
Ray,  Truscott,  and  Blake.  She  found  her  aunt 
tireless  as  a  hostess.  She  admired  the  colonel 
and  his  accomplished  wife.  She  ' '  took' '  to 
Mrs.  Stannard  from  the  start,  and  wondered 
why  Mrs.  Mainwaring  didn't  enthuse  over  her 
as  everybody  else  did.  She  liked  bluff  old 
103 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Stannard  and  most  of  the  officers  thoroughly, 
and  so,  blithe,  busy,  ' f  on  the  go, ' '  as  they 
said,  from  morn  till  late  at  night,  she  had  well- 
nigh  ceased  to  think  of  the  shock  she  had  sus 
tained  on  the  night  of  the  collision  or  to  spec 
ulate  about  the  tall  young  gentleman  who  had 
restored  her  to  consciousness  and  to  whom  she 
had  not  restored  the  handkerchief  and  flask, 
when  the  loth  of  November  came,  and  with  it 
her  birthday,  a  new  sensation,  and  an  excite 
ment  at  the  fort. 

The  recruits  brought  to  Ransom  by  Lieuten 
ant  Rawson  were  for  distribution  to  those  troops 
of  the  regiment  most  in  need  of  new  blood, 
and,  as  luck  would  have  it,  these  were  all  of 
the  battalion  at  Fort  Fred  Winthrop,  an  out 
lying  post  close  to  the  now  crowded  reservation 
of  the  Sioux.  Thither  had  Atherton  ordered 
Rawson  without  delay  of  a  day,  partly  because 
recruits  were  needed,  but  mainly  because  the 
lieutenant  showed  symptoms  of  an  oncoming 
attack  of  a  bibulous  character,  and  Atherton 
would  have  none  of  that  in  his  garrison. 
Rawson  was  ordered  northward  forthwith,  and 
marched  with  his  Johnny  Raws  at  dawn  next 
day,  and,  except  for  the  voice  of  one  crying  in 
the  wilderness  that  the  party  had  looted  the 
groggery  of  Laramie  Pete  at  the  Dry  Fork  of 
the  Ska,  nothing  more  was  heard  of  them  till 
they  joined  at  Winthrop,  none  the  worse  for 
their  wintry  march.  Ray  had  looked  over  the 
104 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

array  and  decided  that  he  could  afford  to  wait 
and  pick  for  himself.  Sergeant  Kearney  had 
gone  back  to  the  recruiting  depot.  The  regi 
mental  adjutant  had  been  designated  as  re 
cruiting  officer  at  the  station,  and  had  disdain 
fully  rejected,  one  after  another,  half  a  dozen 
seedy-looking  tramps,  when  one  day,  perhaps 
the  fifth  after  their  arrival  at  the  post,  the  ser 
geant-major  put  his  handsome  head  into  the 
office,  followed  it  in,  carefully  shut  the  door 
behind  him,  stood  scrupulously  at  attention, 
and  hemmed  behind  his  hand  to  attract  his 
superior's  notice. 

Mr.  Dana  looked  up  from  the  tangled  mass 
of  figures  at  the  foot  of  his  regimental  return, 
laid  down  his  pen,  and  said,  "  Well  ?" 

"  Will  the  adjutant  see  a  man  that  wants  to 
enlist?" 

"  Not  if  he's  like  the  lot  that  have  been  here 
so  far." 

"He  isn't,  sir,  but  I  don't  know  about 
him." 

"What's  the  matter?  I  haven't  time  to 
waste  if  he  isn't  good  enough  to  suit  us."  And 
Dana  glanced  out  along  the  wooden  porch  as 
though  in  search  of  the  would-be  trooper. 

"  He's  good  enough,  I  don't  doubt,  sir," 
said  the  sergeant-major,  a  half-smile  breaking 
about  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  "as  far  as 
looks  go  ;  but  I  never  knew  fellows  like  this 
one  to  enlist  that  didn't  have  something  wrong 
105 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

with  'em,  and  he  says  he  wants  to  take  on 
with  Captain  Ray." 

"  He'll  take  on  where  we  see  fit  to  put  him," 
said  Dana,  with  the  dogmatism  of  the  service. 
' '  Let' s  see  the  gentleman  who  wants  to  dic 
tate  where  he'll  go." 

So  the  sergeant-major  opened  the  door, 
jerked  his  head  backward  in  encouragement 
to  the  invisible  party  in  the  outer  office,  and 
said,  "  Come  in." 

There  stepped  quickly  into  the  room  a  young 
man  about  six  feet  tall,  erect,  and  athletic  in 
build  and  carriage,  with  a  fine,  clear-cut,  frank 
face,  crowned  with  a  crop  of  curly,  close-cut, 
light  brown  hair,  with  very  deep  blue  eyes, 
large  and  clear,  under  heavy  brows,  and  thick, 
long,  curling  lashes,  a  curly  blond  moustache 
sweeping  out  at  the  ends  and  barely  hiding  the 
curve  of  his  handsomely  chiselled  lips,  chin 
and  jaws  cleanly  shaved,  throat  powerful,  open 
and  bare,  for  the  rolling  collar  of  a  brand-new 
blue  flannel  shirt  was  confined  only  by  a 
loosely  knotted  tie  of  silk.  The  coat  he  wore 
was  a  sort  of  double-breasted  pea-jacket  of 
dark  blue  beaver,  now  thrown  open  in  defer 
ence  to  the  warmth  of  the  room,  but  the  first 
significant,  if  not  suspicious,  thing  the  young 
man  did  as  he  entered  was  to  begin  buttoning 
it  throughout.  Snugly  fitting  trousers  of  dark 
blue,  belted  at  the  waist,  stout,  slender,  well- 
made  shoes,  and  a  soft  black  crush  hat  com- 
106 


For  a  moment  no  one  spoke. 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

pleted  his  attire.  As  Dana  looked  at  him  in 
some  surprise,  the  new-comer  brought  his  heels 
together,  and  between  him  and  the  foremost 
non-commissioned  officer  in  the  — th  the  ex 
pert  eye  could  hardly  have  told  which  was  the 
more  soldierly  in  build  and  carriage. 

For  a  moment  no  one  spoke.  It  was  Dana 
who  finally  broke  silence. 

"Why you've  served  before." 

"  Only  in  a  militia  regiment,  sir." 

"Where?" 

"In  New  York  City. 

The  adjutant  had  a  dozen  more  questions  on 
the  tip  of  his  tongue,  and  the  visitor  saw  it. 

' '  I  have  answered  that,  sir,  because  I  pre 
sume  I  have  to  account  for  standing  attention, 
but  there  are  many  questions  that  may  occur  to 
you  that  I  do  not  wish  to  answer.  If  I  may 
speak  with  Captain  Ray  I  think  I  can  satisfy 
him  without  going  into  particulars." 

Dana  whipped  his  wooden  chair  around  and 
squarely  confronted  the  speaker.  That  he  was 
a  man  of  education  and  social  position  in  the 
past,  at  least,  Dana  saw  at  a  glance,  and  just 
as  quickly  did  the  companion  thought  flash 
across  his  mind,  ' '  Another  case  of  the  prodi 
gal  son."  Incredulity  as  to  the  motives  of  a 
man  in  enlisting  in  those  days  was  not  confined 
to  the  rank  and  file. 

' '  Captain  Ray  may  or  may  not  be  satisfied, 
but  in  either  event,  as  recruiting  officer  of  the 
107 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

regiment,  I  have  to  be,"  said  the  young  officer, 
with  a  touch  of  asperity  in  his  tone.  It  was 
not  good  to  his  ears  to  be  told  that  a  would-be 
recruit  declined  to  answer  questions. 

The  new-comer,  far  from  looking  discon 
certed,  smiled  affably  and  frankly.  His  blue 
eyes  twinkled,  his  white  teeth  gleamed.  ' '  The 
best-looking  scapegrace  that  ever  came  to  us. 
Confound  his  impudence  for  grinning,"  said 
Dana  to  himself. 

' '  That  is  why  I  wish  to  speak  with  Captain 
Ray,  sir,"  said  the  civilian.  "He  might  be 
able  to  satisfy  you  when  I,  probably,  could 
not.*' 

"  I  don't  know  how  you  make  that  out," 
said  Dana,  curiosity  betraying  him  into  a  half- 
argument  with  the  applicant,  which  Dana  very 
well  knew  was  infra  dig. 

"  Possibly  Captain  Ray  will  explain  it,"  was 
the  answer,  and  the  serenity  of  the  applicant 
remained  unruffled. 

"Oh,  very  well,"  said  Dana,  nettled  in  spite 
of  his  better  nature.  * '  Go  see  Captain  Ray  if 
you  wish." 

But  even  as  he  spoke  the  hall  door  opened 
and  in  burst  Major  Mainwaring.  There  is  no 
other  way  of  describing  the  major's  method  of 
entering  a  room.  It  has  been  said  that  he  was 
blunt  both  in  speech  and  in  action.  A  soldier 
for  years  of  his  life,  no  amount  of  domestic 
polish  had  ever  succeeded  in  smoothing  off  the 
108 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

rough  edges  of  the  camp.  Mainwaring  prided 
himself  on  being  direct  in  everything  he  said 
and  did.  Men  and  women  who  knew  him  well 
knew  there  was  a  mine  of  genuine  kindness 
and  goodness  under  the  rugged  surface.  Men 
and  women  who  heard  him  speak  for  the  first 
time  declared  him  a  brute. 

"What  you  got  here  ?"  blurted  Mainwaring, 
glaring  at  the  sergeant-major  and  his  silent 
companion. 

' '  Man  wants  to  enlist,  sir, ' '  was  the  reply. 

Now,  Mainwaring  was  not  the  recruiting  offi 
cer  of  the  regiment.  He  was  in  no  wise  re 
sponsible  for  their  selection.  He  had  been 
but  a  few  months  a  member  of  the  regiment 
himself,  having,  as  has  been  explained,  been 
promoted  to  it  from  another  when  Major  Barry 
became  lieutenant-colonel  ;  but  it  was  a  pe 
culiarity  of  Mainwaring' s  that  he  considered  it 
his  inalienable  right  to  have  a  say  in  every 
thing  going  on,  and  it  wasn't  so  much  what  he 
said  as  how  he  said  it  that  made  it  obnoxious. 
He  scowled  at  the  very  presentable  new-comer 
as  though  words  were  inadequate  to  express  his 
disapprobation,  then  gruffly  demanded, — 

"  Where  you  from  ?'* 

A  flush  went  up  to  the  forehead  of  the  young 
man,  and  there  was  an  instant's  hesitation  ; 
then  in  a  very  quiet  tone  he  replied,  ' '  The 
East." 

Major  Mainwaring  was  studying  him  sharply, 
109 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

a  suspicious  light  in  his  black  eyes.  "  Haven't 
I  seen  you  before  ?"  he  presently  asked,  the 
words  tumbling  all  over  one  another's  heels. 

* '  Not  out  here,  certainly, ' '  was  the  tempered 
reply,  though  the  blue  eyes  were  firing  up  and 
looking  squarely  into  the  kindling  black. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  you  haven't  been 
in  service  before?"  The  major's  precipitate 
style  of  questioning  left  barely  time  for  answer. 

But  the  civilian  took  his  time  and  chose  his 
words.  "  I  do  not  mean  to  tell  you — anything, 
sir.'* 

For  a  moment  Mainwaring  simply  glared  as 
though  he  could  not  realize  the  full  significance 
of  the  words. 

' '  What  in  thunder  do  you  mean  by  that  ?' ' 
he  finally  growled. 

"Just  what  I  have  said,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 
"Five  minutes  ago  I  wished  to  enlist  in  this 
regiment ;  now  I  don't ;  good-day  to  you,  gen 
tlemen."  And,  to  the  speechless  amaze  of 
the  sergeant-major,  the  suppressed  delight  of 
Dana,  and  the  profane  astonishment  of  Main- 
waring,  he  calmly  walked  past  the  two  officers, 
replacing  his  hat  as  he  did  so,  stalked  deliber 
ately  into  the  hall-way  and  out  of  the  front 
door. 

' '  Well,  of  all  the  chip-on-the-shoulder  speci 
mens  I  ever  saw,"  loudly  laughed  Mainwaring, 
"  that  fellow  beats  the  lot.  What  do  you  s'pose 
fired  him  off  so  ?  I  hadn't  begun  to  say  any- 
no 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

thing  to  him.  The  man's  a  dash-dashed 
double-dashed  liar,  and  I  know  it.  I've  seen 
him  somewhere  before,  and  he  knows  it,  and 
he's  afraid  to  show  up  again,  and  took  the  first 
excuse  to  get  off.  That  man's  a  dash-dashed 
deserter,  or  a  horse-thief,  or  something.  He 
knows  me,  and  didn't  know  of  my  promotion 
to  this  regiment  or  my  being  here.  You  are 
well  rid  of  him,  Dana.  He'll  never  show  up 
at  Ransom  again." 

But  he  did,  for  just  two  days  later  Captain 
Ray  came  cheerily  into  the  office  with  enlist 
ment  papers  in  his  hand.  "Dana,  old  boy, 
I've  got  a  tip-top  man  to  be  sworn  in. — This 
way,  please,  Hunter."  And  there  at  the  door 
way  stood  the  applicant  of  two  days  before. 

Dana  glanced  over  the  papers.  "Arthur 
Hunter,  born  New  York,  by  occupation  a  clerk, 
do  hereby  acknowledge  to  have  voluntarily  en 
listed  this  sixth  day  of  November,  188-,  as  a 
soldier  in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  etc., 
etc.,  and  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  am  twenty- 
five  years  and  seven  months  of  age,  etc.,  etc., 
and  I,  Arthur  Hunter,  do  solemnly  swear  that 
I  will  bear  true  faith  and  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  etc.,  etc." 

Then  Dana  looked  up  at  the  dark  eyes  and 
curling  black  moustache  and  animated  face  of 
one  of  the  crack  captains  in  the  regiment,  and 
from  him  to  the  silent,  blue-eyed,  and,  as  be 
fore,  thoroughly  presentable  stranger,  and  there 
in 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


was  embarrassment  in  the  adjutant's  face.  For 
a  moment  he  hesitated,  then  turned  to  the 
would-be  recruit. 

'  *  Will  you  step  outside  a  moment  ?  I  have 
to  speak  with  Captain  Ray. ' ' 

He  was  instantly  obeyed. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  captain,"  said  Dana, 
"but  I  have  to  ask  a  question  or  two.  Major 
Mainwaring  is  sure  he  has  seen  this  man  before, 
and  that  he  is  a  deserter  or  something  disrepu 
table  despite  his  good  looks.  He  refused  to 
answer  for  himself  two  days  ago." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  answered  Ray,  smilingly. 
"We  all  know  how  suave  and  encouraging  the 
major  is  apt  to  be  to  strangers.  It's  a  wonder 
some  wild  Westerner  hasn't  put  a  bullet  through 
him.  I've  heard  all  about  that  interview." 

' *  And — you'  re  willing  to  take  chances  ? 
You're  satisfied  this  man's  all  right?" 

"  All  right  as  men  go,  Dana.  We  can't  ex 
pect  all  the  '  vartues  and  timperance  besides  for 
thirteen  dollars  a  month, '  as  Mulligan  said  in  the 
Mexican  war.  But  this  applicant  satisfies  me 
that  he  means  to  serve,  that  he  loves  a  horse, 
and  can  ride  like  a  Kentuckian.  I'll  bet  he 
can  fight,  and  it's  none  of  our  business  who  he  is, 
where  he  hails  from,  or  why  he  enlisted,  so 
long  as  he  does  his  duty.  Now  I'm  willing  to 
take  him." 

And  that  settled  it.  Recruit  Arthur  Hunter 
was  formally  accepted  as  a  member  of  the 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

sorrel  troop,  took  his  first  lesson  with  the  curry 
comb  and  brush  without  a  word,  and,  «'  without 
turning  a  hair,"  his  initiation  on  Buckler,  the 
meanest  brute  in  the  stable,  and  rode  him  bare 
backed  to  water  despite  furious  plunges  and 
wild  howls  of  delight  from  threescore  trooper 
throats.  Furthermore,  Hunter  accepted  bar 
rack  fare  without  remark  and  barrack  chaff 
without  remonstrance,  and  when  forty-eight 
hours  elapsed  and  his  captain  asked  him  how 
he  liked  it,  the  new  trooper  clicked  his  heels 
together  and  said,  ' '  Better  than  I  hoped  to,  sir, '  * 
and  then  surprised  that  officer  by  a  request  to 
be  allowed  to  be  absent  until  next  day.  Eti 
quette  required  that  such  favors  should  be  asked 
through  the  first  sergeant  in  writing.  The 
colonel's  consent  had  also  to  be  given,  but 
Hunter  produced  in  explanation  a  telegram  re 
ceived  but  half  an  hour  before  stables.  That 
despatch  was  addressed  properly  to  Trooper 
A.  Hunter,  Fort  Ransom,  and  said,  "Must 
move  to-night.  Will  bring  your  things  on 
No.  3,"  and  it  came  from  Pawnee. 

Captain  Ray  looked  it  over  in  some  uncer 
tainty.  "What  things  are  these  ?"  he  asked. 

"A  trunk,  sir,  and  some  other  property, 
principally  clothing." 

Colonel  Atherton  did  not  look  over-pleased  at 
the  application  of  Captain  Ray  for  permission 
for  a  new  recruit  to  be  absent  over-night,  but 
Ray  was  a  favorite.  Sergeant  Merriweather 

8  113 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

was  going  to  Butte  on  pass  after  supper ;  Recruit 
Hunter  could  go  with  him  in  the  post-trader's 
wagon.  Ray  felt  sure  of  his  man,  and  the 
colonel  consented. 

And  so  it  happened  that  Merri weather's  pretty 
wife,  the  invalid  of  a  fortnight  agone,  was  sur 
prised  by  the  sight  of  a  tall,  very  fine-looking 
young  man,  in  a  new  fatigue  suit  not  yet  altered 
to  fit  him,  who  appeared  at  the  door-way  of  her 
little  abode  shortly  after  gun-fire  and  asked  for 
the  sergeant. 

"He'll  be  here  directly.  Surely  this  must 
be  Mr.  Hunter,"  said  she,  dusting  a  chair  and 
looking  up  at  him  from  under  her  long  lashes. 
"You'll  come  in  and  wait,  won't  you?"  she 
added,  invitingly.  But  Hunter  thanked  her 
briefly  and  said  he'd  go  to  the  store,  which  he 
did,  with  her  bright  eyes  following  him  in  lively 
curiosity. 

It  was  midnight  when  Sergeant  Merriweather, 
driving  in,  reported  his  return  at  the  guard 
house  and  found  the  officer  of  the  day  and 
half  the  guard  searching  busily  about  the  prem 
ises  in  hopes  of  discovering  by  what  means  two 
general  prisoners  had  sawed  their  way  out  of 
their  iron-barred  room.  The  rest  of  the  guard 
were  in  pursuit.  It  was  a  night  of  excitement 
and  disgust  for  most  of  them,  and  they  were 
all  wide  awake  and  eager  for  news  when,  at  the 
break  of  day,  there  came  galloping  out  from 
Butte  the  local  agent  of  the  Transcontinental, 
114 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

with  a  startling  story.  Train  No.  3,  "  The 
Owl, ' '  the  Pacific  express,  had  been  held  up  by 
robbers  about  an  hour  earlier,  just  east  of  Ska 
Bridge.  Jimmy  Long,  engineer  of  783,  was 
badly  shot.  His  fireman  was  killed.  The  rob 
bers,  nearly  a  dozen  in  number,  had  terrorized 
the  train-hands,  got  everything  there  was  in  the 
safe,  in  the  mail-car,  and  among  the  passengers 
in  the  day-coach  and  sleeper,  and  had  then  rid 
den  off  northwestward  across  the  Ska.  They 
were  heading  for  the  Dry  Fork.  The  sheriff  was 
trying  to  raise  a  posse  in  town,  but  it  was  slow 
work.  For  God's  sake,  couldn't  the  cavalry 
go  in  pursuit  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TERRITORIAL  governor  is  not  an  awe- 
*=-  ™  inspiring  official  ordinarily,  but  the  gov 
ernor  of  Wyoming,  relieved  of  his  val 
uables  at  the  point  of  the  pistol,  was  not  slow 
in  seeking  redress*  From  Butte  he  wired  full 
particulars  of  the  robbery  to  the  department 
commander,  who  was  at  Pawnee,  just  back 
from  an  inspection  of  the  Sioux  agencies,  fifty 
miles  to  the  north.  The  general  was  waiting 
for  the  East-bound  train  at  the  depot  hotel,  was 
aroused  in  an  instant,  and  lost  no  time  in  wiring 
authority  to  Colonel  Atherton  to  use  any  means 
in  his  power  to  head  off  and  capture  the  robbers, 
without  waiting  for  civil  process.  The  news  of 
the  "  hold-up"  with  its  attendant  casualties  went 
buzzing  over  the  post  at  reveille,  and  barely 
had  the  story  reached  Atherton  as  he  stood 
under  the  flag-staff,  receiving  the  reports  of  the 
troop  commanders,  when  out  came  the  telegraph 
operator,  racing,  and  the  colonel  read  the  hur 
riedly  penned  lines  and  turned  to  Ray.  Some 
how  or  other,  whenever  any  swift,  hard  riding 
had  to  be  done,  Ray  and  Ray's  troop  were  the 
first  fellows  thought  of. 

"Let  your  men  finish  breakfast,"  said  the 
116 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

colonel,  "then — do  your  best."  And  he 
handed  the  dark-eyed  Kentuckian  the  de 
spatch. 

In  an  hour  from  that  time,  Mrs.  Ray,  hold 
ing  her  baby  boy  in  her  arms,  was  gazing  from 
the  north  window  of  her  army  home  at  some 
black  specks  on  the  far  horizon,  and  little 
Sandy,  tugging  at  the  skirts  of  her  pretty 
morning  wrapper,  was  coaxing  for  mother  to 
hold  him  up  too.  The  sorrel  troop  were  up 
and  away,  heading  for  Wheelan  Springs,  on 
the  Laramie  trail,  and  bets  were  even  between 
Stannard  and  Mainwaring  that  "  Ray  would 
nab  the  outfit  before  sundown." 

But  who  could  that  "  outfit"  be  ?  Jim  Long 
said  all  were  masked  and  he  recognized  none. 
Scut,  his  fireman,  died  without  a  sign.  Parks, 
the  expressman,  declared  every  form  unfamiliar. 
Jarvis,  the  conductor,  and  Ryan,  a  brakeman, 
alone  could  furnish  anything  like  a  clue.  Two 
of  the  desperadoes  were  dressed  like  two  cow 
boys  they  had  had  aboard  the  night  of  the  col 
lision,  a  fortnight  back,  and  the  leader,  who 
was  tall,  slender,  well  dressed,  with  the  voice 
and  intonation  of  a  man  of  education  and 
social  position,  closely  resembled  in  build  a 
passenger  who  boarded  the  sleeper  that  night 
at  the  Junction  and  left  it  after  the  accident  and 
went  to  Pawnee.  The  division  superintendent 
wired  to  Omaha  such  particulars  as  he  could 
give.  The  legal  representative  and  certain 
117 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

detectives  of  the  road  were  ordered  to  leave  for 
the  scene  by  first  train.  The  sheriff  at  Butte 
had  a  good-sized  posse  in  readiness  by  break 
fast-time,  and  then  started  valiantly  on  the 
trail  of  Ray's  troop,  passing  through  Fort  Ran 
som  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Dana  was  mount 
ing  guard.  Other  sheriff's  officials  went  out  to 
Minden  with  the  division  superintendent,  and 
others  still  pushed  on  to  Pawnee,  up  on  the 
broad  plateau,  to  inquire  for  two  cowboys,  a 
tramp,  and  a  swell,  all  of  whom  had  appeared 
there  in  company,  just  after  the  smash-up  at 
Alkali  Flats,  none  of  whom  were  there  now, 
but  one  of  whom,  the  tramp,  so  called,  looking 
so  entirely  a  different  man — with  trimmed  hair 
and  beard  and  good  clothes — as  to  have  been 
unrecognizable  had  he  not  rashly  given  himself 
away  to  everybody  by  bragging  about  his  exploits 
the  night  of  the  smash-up, — that  tramp  had 
boarded  No.  3  at  three  thirty  A.M.  at  Pawnee, 
with  a  ticket  for  Sweetwater,  but,  so  it  trans 
pired,  had  checked  his  trunk  only  as  far  as 
Butte.  All  this  by  rapid  telegraphing  to  and  fro 
was  developed  before  the  posse  started  on  its 
way,  but  not  until  after  the  despoiled  train  had 
changed  engines  at  Butte,  and  then,  according 
to  the  inexorable  rules  of  the  railway,  had  gone 
on  again.  Jarvis  remembered  that  a  very 
decent,  quiet  fellow  boarded  the  forward  pas 
senger  coach  at  Pawnee  with  a  ticket  for  Sweet- 
water,  but  he  did  not  connect  him  with  the 
118 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

tramp  so  lavishly  provided  for  by  the  "  swell'* 
the  night  of  the  collision.  But,  now  they  spoke 
of  it,  they  were  about  the  same  size  and  build, 
and  what  made  it  significant,  that  fellow 
seemed  to  have  disappeared  when  the  robbers 
jumped  aboard  and  went  through  the  passen 
gers,  nor  did  he  appear  again  until  just  as  the 
train  pulled  out  for  Butte,  after  the  robbers 
were  gone.  Wiring  west  after  the  rushing 
train  speedily  brought  this  answer  :  "  No  party 
with  ticket  from  Pawnee  to  Sweetwater  aboard.'1 
And  as  he  had  been  seen  and  talked  with,  and 
listened  to,  up  to  the  moment  of  the  arrival  of 
No.  3  at  Butte,  Jarvis  declared  the  man  must 
be  somewhere  about  the  town  at  this  mo 
ment,  and  Butte' s  few  policemen  were  put  in 
search. 

All  they  discovered  by  noon  was  that  such  a 
party  had  been  seen  talking  excitedly  with  a 
tall  stranger  in  heavy  overcoat  and  cap  near 
the  baggage-room  just  after  the  train  came  in. 
The  baggage-man  said  that  the  man  who  pre 
sented  check  for  the  trunk  from  Pawnee  was 
tall,  slender,  and  dressed  in  rough,  heavy  coat 
and  travelling-cap.  The  trunk  was  sole- 
leather.  It  had  a  lot  of  foreign  stamps,  hotel 
posters,  and  railway-luggage  slips  all  over  it, 
but  the  baggage-master  had  no  time  to  exam 
ine  it.  Two  men  had  carried  the  trunk  away 
between  them,  declining  the  offers  of  the  bag 
gage-man.  Somebody  remembered  such  a 
119 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


trunk  being  wheeled  in  a  barrow  up  Hoyt 
Street  just  after  No.  3  came  in,  two  men  with 
it,  a  tall  and  a  short,  and  that  was  all. 

Recruit  Hunter's  pass  was  up  at  noon,  and 
at  eleven  thirty  he  jumped  from  a  light  wagon 
at  the  south  gate,  and  was  hailed  by  the  cor 
poral  of  the  guard  as  he  was  striding  briskly 
towards  his  troop  quarters  : 

"  Say,  young  feller,  come  back  here." 

The  tall  recruit  halted,  turned  and  looked 
around,  irresolute.  It  might  be  authoritative, 
it  might  be  mere  practical  joke ;  at  all  events 
the  corporal  was  responsible,  and  the  soldier 
walked  straight  to  where  the  non-commissioned 
officer  was  seated  on  a  bench,  near  the  hall 
door  of  the  guard-house. 

"  Where  you  been  ?'  * 

"  To  town  on  pass,"  was  the  calm  answer. 

"  What  did  you  hear  about  that  hold-up  ?" 

"Nothing  of  consequence." 

"  Well,  your  troop's  gone  thief-catching,  and 
you*  re  to  report  to  Sergeant  Merriweather  as 
soon  as  you  come  in.  Now  you've  come  in, 
.  you  haven't  any  cigars  or  drinkables  about  you, 
have  you  ?  This  is  the  custom-house  if  you 
have." 

Hunter  looked  neither  annoyed  nor  discon 
certed.  Taking  two  or  three  cigars  from  his 
overcoat-pocket,  he  said,  "  Catch,"  tossed  them 
carelessly  to  the  vigilant  wearer  of  the  chevrons, 
hastened  to  barracks,  deposited  his  bundles  on 
120 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

the  bed  assigned  him,  and  looked  up  and  down 
the  now  silent  and  almost  deserted  building  in 
search  of  some  one  to  tell  him  what  had  taken 
place.  Two  men,  one  laid  up  from  the  kick 
of  a  horse,  the  other  with  an  arm  in  a  sling, 
came  down  to  investigate  the  contents  of  his 
bundles,  but  were  disarmed  of  hostile  intent 
by  his  easy  good  nature  and  prompt  offer  of 
cigars.  Whiskey  he  had  none.  Asking  for 
Merri weather,  he  was  told  to  look  for  him  at 
his  quarters. 

"  Catch  him  out  of  watching  distance -of  the 
little  woman,"  said  one  of  them,  with  a  grin. 
"Mind  your  eye,  Hunter;  she'll  be  making 
up  to  you  next,"  said  the  other,  "and  we 
don't  want  you  to  be  found  with  your  head 
in  the  horse-pond,  like  Pat  Shea  ;"  and  then  it 
transpired  that  Trooper  Shea  had  been  a  de 
voted  admirer  of  pretty  Mrs.  Merriweather 
while  she  was  still  housemaid  at  the  Freemans', 
and  that  Pat's  devotions  were  equally  divided 
between  her  and  Muldoon's  saloon  until  one 
winter's  morning  he  was  dragged  by  the  legs 
from  his  icy  winding-sheet  with  a  dreadful  gash 
in  his  throat  and  the  neck  of  a  bottle  still 
grasped  in  his  frozen  hand.  Hunter  obeyed 
his  orders  and  went,  and  Mrs.  Merriweather 
saw  him  coming,  and  ran  to  her  glass  before 
she  answered  the  sharp  knock  at  the  door. 

"Why,  it's  Mr.  Hunter,"  she  said.  "Sure 
I  knew  the  step  before  I  saw  you.  Come  in, 

121 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Mr.  Hunter.  The  sergeant's  gone  to  the  com 
missary,  and  I  expect  him  back  every  minute." 

But  the  trooper' s  blue  eyes  glanced  only  in 
differently  into  the  coquettish  and  smiling  face. 

"I  was  directed  here,"  he  said,  "to  report 
to  Sergeant  Merriweather,  but  I'll  go  on  down 
to  the  stables  and  stop  on  my  return.  Thank 
you,  no,"  he  continued,  with  cold  courtesy,  as 
she  again  urged  that  he  should  enter,  and 
strode  away  stablewards  with  more  than  one 
pair  of  eyes  from  the  laundresses'  quarters 
gazing  after  him, — those  of  Mrs.  Merriweather 
being  clouded  and  perplexed. 

It  had  been  a  perfect  morning,  keen  and 
frosty  at  guard-mount,  but  warmer  as  the  sun 
wheeled  high  towards  the  zenith,  and  Atherton 
had  had  the  regiment  out  for  drill.  The  broad 
prairie  northeast  of  the  post  was  alive  with 
prancing,  high-mettled  steeds,  with  dashing 
riders,  and  not  a  few  carriages  and  Concord 
wagons  filled  with  ladies  of  the  post,  all  re 
joicing  at  having  the  regiment  once  more  at 
home.  For  nearly  two  hours  Atherton  had 
had  the  seven  troops  in  rapid  movement  here 
and  there  and  everywhere  over  the  plain,  and 
now,  the  drill  over,  troop  after  troop  came 
marching  sedately  and  quietly  homeward  to 
cool  and  calm  the  horses  before  reaching  sta 
bles.  In  full  ranks,  fifty  men  at  least  to  each 
company,  in  their  trim-fitting  fatigue  dress,  and 
with  the  silken  swallow-tail  waving  at  the  head 

122 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

of  each  little  column,  they  looked  wonderfully 
business-like  and  serviceable.  The  easy,  prac 
tised  seat  of  every  man,  the  nonchalant  grace 
of  every  pose,  the  resolute,  dust-covered,  some 
times  devil-may-care  faces,  all  seemed  thor 
oughly  in  keeping  with  the  scene  and  surround 
ings,  thoroughly  in  accord  with  the  buoyant 
action  of  the  mettlesome  mounts.  Accustomed 
from  boyhood  to  the  best  of  horse-flesh,  a 
born  rider  and  judge,  Trooper  Hunter  could 
not  but  see  that  though  these  frontier  steeds 
might  lack  the  dainty  trappings  and  satin  coats 
of  the  park  and  avenues  of  Gotham,  there  was 
life  and  spirit,  fire  and  endurance,  in  almost 
every  one  in  each  of  the  seven  columns. 
Standing  by  the  northward  gate,  he  keenly 
studied  each  troop  as  it  came  jogging  briskly 
in.  The  colonel  and  the  major,  the  adjutant 
and  certain  other  officers,  seemed  to  have 
grouped  about  the  carriages  of  the  ladies  at 
the  edge  of  the  drill-ground,  but  at  least  one 
officer  rode  with  every  troop, — the  best  oppor 
tunity  the  new-comer  yet  had  enjoyed  of  study 
ing  these  future  comrades  with  whom  he  might 
never  expect  to  exchange  a  word  or  meet  with 
more  than  the  formal  and  punctilious  touch  of 
the  hand  to  cap.  They  were  moving  at  ease 
now  until  each  troop  in  succession  might  cross 
the  sentry-post  and  be  called  to  attention  in 
recognition  of  the  salute  of  its  solitary  occu 
pant.  Hunter  watched  the  man  as  he  halted, 
123 


RAY    S    RECRUIT 

faced  outward  as  the  nearest  troop  drew  nigh, 
then  snapped  his  carbine  to  the  present  as  the 
head  of  the  column  turned  to  enter  the  gate, 
and  Captain  Gregg  whipped  out  his  sabre, 
gave  voice  over  his  shoulder  to  the  prolonged 
"  'Tensh-o-o-on"  which  brought  every  man's 
head  and  eyes  up  and  to  the  front,  and  then, 
looking  square  at  the  sentry,  lowered  the  glit 
tering  blade  in  acknowledgment  of  the  honor 
paid  to  himself  and  his  command.  Hunter's 
eyes  kindled  at  the  sight.  No  matter  how 
humble  the  private  soldier,  there  at  least,  on 
post  as  sentry,  he  could  expect  the  recognition 
of  the  President  himself,  than  whom  in  the 
eyes  of  the  — th  there  lived  no  grander  poten 
tate  on  earth.  Then,  the  next  thing  Hunter 
knew,  the  troop  came  tripping  by  the  line  of 
picket-fence  on  which  he  leaned,  gazing  out 
upon  the  spirited  scene  beyond  ;  and  now  it 
was  his  turn.  The  teachings  of  the  old  days 
in  the  famous  regiment,  wherein  every  man 
might  be  said  to  have  worn  kid  gloves  when 
not  on  military  duty,  were  fresh  in  his  mind, 
as  he  had  been  well  schooled  in  the  first  prin 
ciples  of  soldier  duty.  Yet  Hunter  felt  the 
blood  was  mounting  to  his  temples  and  his 
heart  was  beating  quicker  as  he  faced  the 
coming  column,  braced  his  heels  together,  and 
raised  his  hand  to  the  cap  visor,  as  Captain 
Gregg  came  ambling  by.  The  big  troop-leader 
glanced  curiously  at  the  lonely  figure  in  the 
124 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

cheap  fatigue  dress,  and  again,  but  with  far 
less  precision,  returned  the  salute,  and  Hunter 
could  not  but  note  the  difference.  Before  an 
other  troop  could  pass  him  by  he  moved  quickly 
away,  twenty  yards  or  more  beyond  the  gate, 
where  he  still  could  have  a  good  look  at  the  re 
turning  soldiery,  but  was  himself  beyond  sa 
luting  distance.  One  after  another  of  the  seven 
separate  compact  little  columns  of  fours  marched 
steadily  in,  and  jogged  on  down  the  gentle  slope 
towards  the  huge  wooden  stables.  He  was  still 
gazing  in  some  odd  fascination  after  the  last, 
the  roan  troop,  when  the  sound  of  bounding 
hoofs,  whirring  wheels,  and  gay  laughter  re 
called  his  wandering  thoughts,  and,  turning 
sharply  to  the  prairie  once  more,  his  eyes 
fell  upon  the  foremost  of  the  rapidly  nearing 
carriages. 

It  was  a  light,  open  phaeton,  drawn  by  two 
spirited  bays,  whose  fine  action  and  well-made 
harness  won  his  instant  approval.  Beside  the 
carriage  trotted  the  stocky,  burly  major  whom 
he  so  well  remembered  the  day  of  his  first  in 
terview  with  Dana  in  the  office.  On  the  other 
side  rode  Dana  himself,  a  handsome  young 
soldier,  and,  far  more  interested  in  them  than 
in  the  possible  occupants  of  the  vehicle,  Hun 
ter  was  looking  upon  them  with  a  soldier's  eye, 
keenly  appreciative  of  Dana's  graceful,  easy 
seat  and  of  Mainwaring's  good,  if  bulky,  horse 
manship,  when  he  suddenly  became  aware  of 
125 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

the  fact  that  instead  of  turning  in  at  the  gate 
the  driver  was  heading  straight  southward,  evi 
dently  intending  to  drive  around  to  the  main 
gate  instead  of  passing,  as  Hunter  had  come, 
through  that  portion  of  the  post  best  known 
as  "  Sudstown." 

Another  minute,  and  they  must  flash  past 
him,  not  ten  yards  away,  with  only  that  low 
picket-fence  between  them.  Already  the  sentry 
had  halted  and  presented  arms,  both  officers 
touching  their  caps  in  acknowledgment.  Al 
ready  the  swift  team  was  darting  past  the  gate. 
The  lady  occupants  of  the  stylish  vehicle  were 
whisking  into  view,  and,  yielding  to  sudden 
and  uncontrollable  impulse,  Hunter  whirled 
about,  jumped  the  shallow  ditch,  and  sprang 
behind  the  nearest  of  the  little  houses  devoted 
to  the  use  of  the  married  soldiers.  In  that  one 
swift  glance  at  the  fair  occupants  he  had  seen  a 
face  at  sight  of  which  the  blood  went  rushing 
to  his  own.  There,  side  by  side,  were  Mrs. 
Mainwaring  and  the  young  lady  whom  he  had 
picked  up  in  his  arms  the  night  of  that  "  head- 
on"  collision  at  Alkali  Flats. 


126 


CHAPTER    VII. 

VfOR  STANNARD  had  won  his  bet, 
and  Mainwaring  was  more  than  usually 
"grumpy"  in  consequence.  Ray  and 
his  men,  riding  like  the  wind,  had  run  down 
the  train-robbers  before  they  reached  the  Dry 
Fork,  and  in  a  long,  stern  chase  had  overhauled 
first  one  man,  then  another,  until  darkness  set 
in  and  hid  the  leading  fugitives  from  sight. 
Seven  lively  specimens  of  the  border  ruffian 
were  the  captives  of  the  sorrel  troop  by  night 
fall,  and,  closely  guarded,  these  were  the  men 
turned  over  next  morning  to  Mr.  Sheriff  Con- 
way  when  that  much  fatigued  official  and  his 
posse  reached  the  spot  where  Ray  and  his  men 
had  made  camp  the  night  before.  Ray  him 
self,  with  a  dozen  troopers,  had  pushed  on  at 
daybreak,  following  the  trail  of  the  fugitives  in 
hopes  of  capturing  the  more  prominent  mem 
bers  of  the  party,  who,  as  it  turned  out,  had 
most  of  the  ill-gotten  booty,  while  his  lieutenant, 
Mr.  Scott,  remained  in  charge  of  the  main 
body  and  of  the  prisoners  until  the  arrival  of 
the  civil  authorities,  who  promptly  demanded 
and  obtained  possession.  Conway  and  his 
posse,  rejoicing,  turned  homeward  at  once 
127 


RAY'S  REICRUIT 


with  their  dishevelled  prizes,  hoping  to  reach 
Butte  and  receive  a  triumph  by  evening  of  the 
next  day.  Seven  train-robbers  was  more  than 
had  ever  been  caught  before  in  the  history  of 
the  Territory,  and  great  would  be  the  rejoicings. 
Securely  bound,  the  luckless  captives,  each 
man  lashed  to  the  stirrup  of  some  one  of  the 
numerous  posse,  trudged  painfully  along  the 
homeward  trail.  Silent,  resolute,  almost  de 
fiant,  no  one  of  their  number  would  give  the 
whisper  of  a  hint  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
leaders  or  of  one  another.  All  were  strangers 
to  Butte.  Neither  Conway  nor  his  deputies 
had  ever  seen  one  of  their  faces  before.  Lieu 
tenant  Scott  had  lost  no  time  in  saddling  and 
pushing  on  after  his  captain,  two  of  the  posse 
riding  with  him  so  as  to  give  the  possibly  neces 
sary  civil  sanction  to  the  arrest  of  the  robbers 
and  to  take  the  customary  civil  credit  for  the 
same,  naively  explaining,  * '  You  fellows  in  the 
regular  army  don't  need  it  ;  we  do,  or  there's 
no  chance  for  Conway' s  crowd  next  election." 
And  on  his  triumphant  homeward  way,  what 
was  more  natural  than  that  Conway  should 
march  through  Ransom  the  following  evening 
just  as  the  ghost-like  column  in  white  stable- 
frocks  came  swinging  up  to  barracks  through 
the  gloaming  ?  As  the  shortest  road  ran  close 
to  the  men's  quarters,  it  happened  that  the  burly 
sheriff,  with  his  captive  train,  went  clattering 
by  the  long  wooden  porches,  and  such  troopers 
128 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

as  happened  to  be  excused  from  stables — pre 
cious  few  in  Atherton's  regiment — came  rush 
ing  out  of  quarters  to  see  them.  All  the  com 
panies  had  had  to  * '  stand  to  heel' '  and  have 
their  stalls  inspected  before  they  started  up  the 
slope,  but  in  Ray's  stable  were  only  a  few 
horses,  and  the  few  men  under  charge  of 
Sergeant  Merriweather  had  already  gone  to 
barracks,  and  were  there  when  Conway  came 
through,  and  of  this  few  was  the  new  trooper, 
Hunter. 

Still  wearing  his  white  stable-frock,  and 
looking  a  trifle  tired  and  sombre,  the  recruit 
had  stopped  at  the  corner  of  the  porch  and 
was  gazing  with  but  languid  interest  at  Con- 
way's  motley  cavalcade,  when  Merriweather 
joined  him.  "A  precious  lot  of  jail-birds,'* 
said  the  sergeant,  as  the  party  came  jogging 
by,  sheriff  and  deputies  grinning  affably,  and 
many  of  the  latter  shouting  words  of  condo 
lence  to  the  stay-at-homes  who  hadn't  been 
partakers  with  them  in  the  glories  of  the  chase 
and  capture.  Four  prisoners  had  trudged 
wearily  by,  while  Trooper  Hunter  replied 
briefly  but  without  especial  civility  to  the  ser 
geant's  remark.  Then  came  the  fifth,  whose 
eyes,  haggard  and  hunted-looking,  glanced  up 
just  one  second  at  the  man  in  stable-frock  at 
the  edge  of  the  porch,  and  instantly  there  was 
a  flash  of  recognition.  Sergeant  Merriweather, 
turning  to  his  companion  in  surprise,  saw  him 
9  I29 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

gazing  after  number  five  with  an  expression 
of  amazement  and  dismay  upon  his  handsome 
face. 

"  Then  you've  met  one  of  these  fellows  be 
fore,  have  you  ?' '  said  Merriweather,  with  in 
stant  suspicion. 

But  Hunter  answered  never  a  word,  and, 
turning  short,  plunged  into  the  shadows  of  the 
great,  gloomy  barrack. 

Not  for  forty-eight  hours  longer  did  Captain 
Ray  return,  and  with  him  came  the  two  dep 
uties  and  one  more  prisoner.  The  others,  so 
said  the  hoof-tracks,  had  scattered  during  that 
first  night  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  even 
the  trail  soon  became  indistinct  on  the  hard 
prairie  beyond  the  Ska  ;  but  enough  was  known 
to  warrant  the  statement  that  two  of  the  num 
ber  had  gone  towards  the  agencies  away  to 
the  northeast,  and  that  their  mounts  were  evi 
dently  blooded  stock,  far  swifter  than  Ray's, 
for  never  once  had  their  leaders  been  in  view, 
and  there  was  no  use  in  further  pursuit.  Hud 
dled  in  the  county  jail,  the  eight  malefactors 
were  awaiting  the  action  of  the  civil  authorities 
and  their  identification  by  the  railway  people 
while  Ray  and  his  returned  men  shook  off  the 
dust  of  travel  and  settled  down  to  garrison  duty 
again.  The  first  thing  demanded  of  Sergeant 
Merriweather  was  an  account  of  his  steward 
ship  and  the  progress  of  the  new  trooper, 
and  Merriweather  looked  solemn  and  myste- 
130 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

rious,  and  was  finally  understood  to  say  that 
he  had  nothing  to  complain  of  in  him,  but  he 
"  reckoned  other  people  might."  Whereupon 
Ray  bade  him  speak  out.  The  Kentuckian 
could  not  tolerate  insinuation  or  innuendo  in  a 
soldier.  And  Merriweather  told  the  story  of 
the  mutual  recognition  of  Hunter  and  the  un 
known  captive. 

It  was  the  evening  of  his  return  to  Ransom 
and  just  before  tattoo,  which  in  those  days  was 
always  accompanied  by  a  roll-call. 

"See  if  Hunter  is  in  quarters,"  said  the 
captain,  "and  send  him  to  me."  And  Merri 
weather  hastened  on  his  errand. 

No.  The  men  in  barracks  said  the  swell  re 
cruit  was  out  somewhere.  "  Mabbe  he's  gone 
down  to  pay  his  respects  to  Mrs.  Merriweather, 
sergeant,"  sneered  an  ill-conditioned  fellow,  a 
man  no  other  liked,  yet  who  had  served  with 
the  old  troop  over  half  a  dozen  years.  Merri 
weather  knew  it  would  never  do  to  notice  the 
remark,  but  it  stung  him  all  the  same.  "  Find 
him,  you,  and  tell  him  the  captain  wants  him 
at  once,"  said  he  to  the  would-be  sneerer,  then 
slammed  the  door  behind  him  and  sprang  out 
into  the  night.  He  had  not  been  home  for 
nearly  an  hour,  and  he  needed,  he  told  him 
self,  a  drink  ;  so  thither  he  went. 

Bright  lights  were  burning  in  some  of  the 
quarters,  dim  ones  in  others,  but  in  his  own 
the  light  seemed  lowered  to  the  verge  of  dark- 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

ness.  Not  two  yards  from  his  door  the  tall 
figure  of  a  man  in  soldier  overcoat  loomed 
into  view,  and,  peering  closely  at  him,  Merri- 
weather  discovered  the  recruit. 

"  Where  you  been,  Hunter  ?"  was  the  sharp, 
stern  demand. 

"  Looking  for  you,  sergeant,"  was  the  quiet 
reply. 

"Who  sent  you?"  And  there  were  both 
anger  and  suspicion  in  the  tone. 

' '  Oh,  no  one.  I  wished  to  speak  with  you 
a  moment.  I  want  some  advice." 

"  There  is  no  need  of  you  coming  here,  then. 
You've  seen  me  a  dozen  times  in  the  last  two 
days  :  why  didn't  you  ask  it  then  ?" 

For  a  moment  the  younger  man  was  silent ; 
surprise  and  disappointment  clouded  his  face. 
So,  too,  there  crept  into  it  a  shade  of  indigna 
tion,  and  it  showed  plainly  in  the  tone  of  his 
reply. 

"  I  had  no  need  of  it  then,"  was  the  answer, 
as  the  younger  soldier  looked  squarely  into  the 
eyes  of  the  senior.  Then,  just  as  when  an 
gered  by  the  overbearing  ways  of  Major  Main- 
waring,  Hunter's  high  spirit  overmastered  his 
resolution  to  take  men  and  matters  as  he 
found  them,  and  his  eyes,  too,  flashed  angrily. 
' '  Whatever  thought  I  had  of  it  ten  minutes 
ago,"  he  said,  "is  gone  now.  I  won't  trouble 
you." 

And  with  that  he  would  have  gone  his  way, 
132 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

but  Merri weather,  smarting  with  jealousy  and 
suspicion,  threw  himself  across  his  path. 

' '  You  go  no  further,  young  man,  till  you 
hear  what  I've  got  to  say.  This  is  the  third 
time  in  less  than  a  week  you've  been  prowling 
here  around  my  door.  Keep  your  distance  in 
future.  D'ye  understand  ?  No  man  enters 
that  house  except  on  my  invitation.  Now  you 
go  to  Captain  Ray  and  tell  him  I  sent  you." 

For  a  moment  the  tall  young  soldier  stood 
there,  too  astonished  to  make  reply.  He  had 
heard  the  men  talk  of  Merri  weather  as  ' '  tough 
on  recruits."  He  had  understood  that  new 
men  must  take  a  great  deal  of  bullying  from 
the  elders, — that  it  was  purposely  done  to  try 
their  temper  and  test  their  sense  of  subordina 
tion.  Hitherto  he  had  looked  upon  Merri  - 
weather's  asperities  as  having  no  personal  sig 
nificance.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  it  flashed 
upon  him  that  he  was  singled  out  for  harsh, 
overbearing,  and  abusive  language  from  a  man 
coarse  by  nature,  mentally,  physically,  and  so 
cially  his  inferior.  All  on  a  sudden  the  hot 
blood  boiled  in  his  veins,  and,  forgetful  of  his 
new  obligations,  reckless  of  anything  but  his 
wrath,  Trooper  Hunter  hit  out  straight,  hard, 
and  well,  taking  Merriweather  squarely  between 
the  eyes  and  knocking  him  flat.  The  resound 
ing  thwack  of  the  blow,  the  heavy  crash  of 
the  fall,  were  echoed  from  the  door-way  by  a 
woman's  startled  cry,  and  the  next  thing  Hun- 
133 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

ter  knew  as  he  stood  there  still  quivering,  his 
fist  clinched  and  ready  to  dash  again  at  his 
floored  victim,  now  feebly  struggling  to  his 
knees,  the  slender  form  of  the  sergeant's  wife 
was  bending  over  the  beaten  man ;  then  she 
threw  herself  upon  her  knees  beside  her  pros 
trate  husband. 

"  You've  struck  him  cruel  hard,"  she  moaned. 
"  Oh,  you  shouldn't  have  minded  what  he  said, 
Mr.  Hunter.  He's  awful  jealous. — There, 
Danny,  sit  still, — sit  still,"  she  pleaded,  sooth 
ingly.  "  Run  for  a  little  water,  Mr.  Hunter ;  he's 
bleeding  fearful.  Do  be  still,  Danny.  Sure 
the  gentleman  never  set  foot  inside  your  door 
nor  spoke  a  word  to  me.  You're  foolish, 
Danny. ' '  She  strove  to  stanch  the  blood  with 
her  handkerchief,  but  he  was  slowly  regaining 
his  faculties,  and  thrust  her  rudely  away,  and 
then  she  saw  he  was  fumbling  inside  the  breast 
of  his  coat,  and  fear  gave  her  strength.  Hun 
ter  had  taken  a  dipperful  of  water  from  the 
barrel  at  the  side  of  the  little  hut,  and  was 
bringing  it,  dripping,  wondering  as  he  came 
what  would  be  the  outcome  of  this  mad  impulse, 
but  she  met  him  half-way,  seized  the  dipper, 
and  bade  him  go.  ' '  Quick, ' '  she  panted  ; 
"  don't  stop  an  instant  now.  Get  away  before 
he  comes  to  himself,  or  he'll  shoot.  Go  in 
stantly,  please,  Mr.  Hunter,  or  maybe  he'll  kill 
me  too." 

"  I  can't  go  if  I've  hurt  him.  I  must  help 
134 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

him  up,"  he  began,  but  she  clutched  his  arm 
with  trembling  hands  and  whirled  him  about 
towards  the  barracks. 

"No,  no;  leave  everything  to  me.  Don't 
come  here  till  I  tell  you.  Don't  you  speak  of 
this  to  a  soul,  unless  you  want  him  to  kill  me. 
He'll  never  harm  me  now  unless  he  sees  you  still 
here  ;  but  not  a  word  of  it.  I  can  keep  him 
quiet."  Then  she  pushed  him  violently  from 
her,  just  as  the  sergeant,  staggering  to  his  feet, 
held  forth  a  feeble  hand  as  though  seeking 
support. 

And  at  that  moment,  up  along  the  line  of 
barracks,  the  trumpets  began  the  spirited  music 
of  the  tattoo.  The  doors  of  neighboring  cot 
tages  began  to  open,  and  soldier  forms,  envel 
oped  in  the  long  caped  overcoats,  hastened 
forth.  Irresolute,  bewildered,  hardly  knowing 
what  he  did  and  far  from  knowing  what  he 
ought  to  do,  Trooper  Hunter  hurried  from  the 
spot,  breasted  the  slope  to  the  "bench"  on 
which  was  spread  the  garrison  proper,  and 
found  full  two-thirds  of  his  troop  already  gather 
ing  in  front  of  their  quarters  awaiting  the  signal 
to  form  ranks, — the  quick,  stirring  assembly. 

"  Did  you  see  Doyle?  He  was  looking  for 
you,  Hunter,"  chirruped  a  little  Patlander. 
"You're  blowing,  man.  Where  ye  running 
from  ?' ' 

But  Hunter  made  no  reply.  Hooking  the 
collar  of  his  ovprcpat  and  buttoning  it  through- 
135 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

out,  he  stepped  quietly  to  the  point  where  the 
centre  of  his  troop  usually  formed  for  roll-call, 
for  his  place  in  ranks  was  close  behind  a  tall 
corporal  who  marked  the  left  of  the  first  platoon. 
The  first  sergeant,  silent  and  solitary,  his  swing 
ing  lantern  in  his  hand,  stood  a  few  yards  away, 
gazing  out  across  the  dim  parade  at  the  bright 
lights  in  the  distant  quarters  of  the  officers. 
The  soldierly  form  of  the  second  lieutenant 
could  be  dimly  discerned  a  few  yards  beyond 
the  sergeant.  To  the  right  and  left,  in  front  of 
the  other  barrack  buildings,  big  black  groups  of 
men  were  gathered  and  sergeants'  lights  were 
gleaming,  all  awaiting  the  next  signal.  Sud 
denly  it  came,  quick,  rippling,  merry.  ' '  Fall 
in,*'  were  the  hoarse  words  growled  from  half 
a  dozen  soldier  throats.  The  groups  quickly 
resolved  themselves  into  two  long  columns 
of  files  that  faced  to  their  left  the  instant  the 
music  ceased,  and  stood  motionless  while,  with 
the  ease  and  rapidity  of  daily  practice,  the  ser 
geant  called  the  roll. 

The  non-commissioned  head  of  the  sorrel 
troop  twice  repeated  one  name  in  a  question 
ing,  surprised  tone,  then  faced  his  lieutenant 
and  reported,  ' '  Sergeant  Merriweather  absent, 
sir. ' '  The  officer  acknowledged  the  salute,  said, 
"Dismiss  the  troop, "and,  facing  about,  found 
himself  confronting  the  unexpected  apparition 
of  Captain  Ray,  and  heard  in  the  soft  dialect 
of  the  Blue  Grass  his  captain's  words  : 
136 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"Send  Trooper  Hunter  to  me,  sergeant, 
directly  you  dismiss." 

And  while  Lieutenant  Scott  went  away  to  re 
port  the  result  of  roll-call  to  the  adjutant,  and 
the  sergeant  again  faced  his  company,  Hunter 
felt  his  heart  sink  within  him.  Already  Merri- 
weather,  then,  had  managed  to  get  word  to  his 
captain,  and  the  captain  was  there  to  wreak 
vengeance  on  him,  the  luckless  offender.  In 
violation  of  the  strictest  articles  of  war,  he, 
Hunter  Gray,  had  struck  down  his  superior 
officer,  and  was  now  to  suffer  the  penalty  of  the 
law. 

"You  hear,  Hunter  :  the  captain  wants  you." 
Then,  ' '  Break  ranks.  March  !' '  was  the  order, 
and  the  troop,  cohesive  and  compact  but  the 
moment  before,  dissolved  at  the  word  and  fell 
to  pieces,  leaving  the  new  member  standing  all 
alone.  For  one  moment  he  remained  there  to 
pull  himself  together,  then,  nerved  to  face  the 
worst,  strode  out  to  meet  his  fate,  his  heart 
thumping  in  his  breast. 

"  Hunter,"  said  the  captain,  "  did  I  not  un 
derstand  you  to  say  that  you  were  a  total  stran 
ger  west  of  the  Missouri,  and  that  you  had 
neither  friends  nor  enemies  out  here  ?'  * 

"Yes,  sir,"  was  the  trooper's  reply,  his  hand 
still  at  the  cap  visor. 

"Then  how  did  you  come  to  know  that  pris 
oner  in  the  lot  brought  in  by  the  sheriff?" 

Hunter  was  silent. 

137 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"You  admit  having  seen  him  before ?" 

"I  do,  sir." 

"Where  and  when ?" 

"Before  I  joined  the  regiment,  sir.  I  met 
him  with  another  man  at  Pawnee." 

Captain  Ray  was  silent  a  moment.  He  stood 
scrutinizing  in  deep  concern  the  pale,  clear-cut 
face  before  him. 

"When  I  vouched  for  you  in  the  adjutant's 
office  the  day  of  your  enlistment,  I  felt  some 
how  that  you  were  a  truthful  man  and  not  a 
runagate,  and  I  don't  wish  to  be  disappointed 
in  you.  I  don't  want  to  find  a  man  with  a 
clouded  record  in  my  troop.  What  do  you 
know  about  that  robbery  ?' ' 

"Nothing  more  than  everybody  else,  sir, — 

that  it  took  place,  and  that ' '  but  here  again 

he  hesitated. 

"Well,  that  what,  Hunter?"  said  Captain 
Ray,  noting  the  soldier's  significant  pause. 

' '  Nothing  more,  sir.  I  met  one  of  the  pris 
oners  at  Pawnee  in  a  restaurant  some  few  weeks 
ago.  I  never  saw  him  before,  and  I've  never 
seen  him  since — except  that  day." 

Ray  stood  calmly  studying  his  man.  ' '  I  told 
you  it  was  taking  chances  to  enlist  an  applicant 
who  looked  as  though  he  might  have  been  a 
man  of  high  social  standing,"  said  he,  pres 
ently,  "  and  you  looked  me  in  the  eye  and  said 
I  shouldn't  regret  taking  you  in  my  troop. 
You've  been  with  me  barely  a  week,  and  already 
138 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

you  are  the  object  of  suspicion.  How  long 
will  it  be  before  I  hear  you  directly  accused  of 
something  to  make  me  deeply  regret  my  over- 
confidence  ?' ' 

Hunter  started  as  though  to  speak,  but  the 
words  died  on  his  lips.  From  the  direction  of  the 
barracks  a  soldierly  step  was  swiftly  approach 
ing.  The  turf  beneath  their  feet  began  to  light 
up  with  the  gleam  of  a  nearing  lantern.  It  was 
the  first  sergeant  again,  and  Hunter  heard  him 
abruptly  halt,  true  to  the  formal  etiquette  of  the 
old  cavalry  days,  and  await  his  captain' s  signal 
to  approach. 

"  Remain  here  a  moment,"  said  Ray  to  his 
anxious  recruit. — "  What  is  it,  sergeant?" 

' '  I  found  Sergeant  Merriweather,  who  was 
absent  from  roll-call,  at  his  quarters,  sir. ' ' 

Ray  frowned.  Another  instance  of  Merri 
weather1  s  falling  off  since  his  marriage. 

"  What  excuse  had  he  for  his  absence  ?"  was 
the  brief  question. 

"  Well,  sir,  his  wife  says  that  he  had  met  with 
a  mishap, — had  a  fall  in  the  dark.  But  it  looked 
to  me  more  like  a  blow,  and  he  couldn't  deny 
it,  sir." 

' '  A  blow  ?  Assaulted  ?  When,  and  by 
whom  ?' ' 

' '  Just  a  few  minutes  ago,  sir.  Close  to  his 
own  door,  I  think." 

Ray's  head  went  back  with  a  jerk,  an  odd 
old  trick  of  his  when  mentally  aroused.  "  He 
'39 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

must  know  who  did  it,  unless  he  was  struck 
from  behind.  Did  you  ask  him  ?" 

"Certainly,  sir,  and  he  declares  he  didn't 
see,  and  Mrs.  Merriweather  declares  it  was  two 
men,  and  they  ran  away  towards  barracks  the 
moment  they  downed  him." 

For  a  few  seconds  the  sergeant  stood  looking 
at  his  captain's  perplexed  face.  Then  the  re 
cruit  suddenly  and  impulsively  stepped  forward. 
Before  he  could  speak,  Captain  Ray  threw  up 
his  hand  in  warning  gesture,  as  though  com 
manding  silence.  The  first  sergeant  whirled 
abruptly  and  stood  facing  towards  the  distant 
south  gate.  Borne  on  the  night  wind  came  a 
confused  medley  of  hoarse  murmurs,  of  distant 
shouts,  of  rapid-running  feet ;  then,  from  far  out 
across  the  townward  stretch  of  prairie,  the  muf 
fled  report  of  fire-arms,  one,  two,  three ;  and 
from  the  direction  of  the  guard-house  a  soldier 
came  rushing  like  a  Wyoming  gale. 

"What  is  it,  Kid ?"  sang  out  the  sergeant  to 
the  sprinter. 

"  Sheriff  Conway — stabbed,  and  his  prisoners 
loose.  They  want  the  doctor.1* 

"Why,"  said  Ray,  in  surprise,  "what  busi 
ness  could  he  have  out  here  ?  What  does  it 
mean  ?' ' 

"They  were  telling  me  just  before  tattoo, 

captain,  that  Conway  came  out  with  a  warrant 

for  some  one  here  at  the  fort,  but  asked  to  see 

Prisoner  Healy,  one  of  the  two  that  escaped  the 

140 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

night  of  the  train-robbery, — the  one  of  the  two 
that  was  recaptured.  The  man  must  have 
knifed  him  and  got  away." 

"Is  Captain  Ray  there?"  came  a  call  from 
the  darkness,  in  the  deep,  well-known  voice  of 
the  colonel,  and  Ray  sprang  to  answer.  Then 
the  sergeant  turned  on  Trooper  Hunter. 

"  Look  here,  young  feller,"  said  he.  "They 
tell  me  you're  the  chap  Conway  wanted." 


141 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GENERAL  court-martial  had  convened 
at  Ransom  for  the  trial  of  such  enlisted 
men  as  should  be  brought  before  it,  and 
the  president  thereof  looked  out  from  behind 
his  newspaper  during  a  lull  in  the  proceedings, 
and,  with  the  characteristic  expression  which 
seemed  to  say,  ' '  Don't  you  dare  lie  to  me  now, ' ' 
popped  the  following  question  : 

"  Blake,  what's  the  name  of  the  Three  Guards 
men  ?' ' 

And  Blake,  never  laying  down  his  paper 
or  changing  a  muscle  of  his  long,  sallow 
countenance,  placidly  and  promptly  responded, 
"Clotho,  Lachesis,  and  Atropos." 

Captain  Gregg,  sitting  at  the  right  of  the  pre 
siding  officer,  after  reflecting  profoundly  a  mo 
ment,  slowly  nodded,  as  though  to  say,  "  Right, 
though  I  didn't  think  you  knew."  Captain 
Truscott,  sitting  opposite  Gregg  and  busily  occu 
pied  with  a  letter,  glanced  quickly  from  under 
his  heavy  lashes  and  compressed  his  lips. 
Some  of  the  youngsters  farther  down  the  long 
table  looked  a  bit  mystified  ;  but  Blake's  bal 
ance-wheel,  Captain  Ray,  was  not  a  member  of 
the  court,  and  probably  would  have  accepted 
142 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

the  reply  as  authoritative  had  he  been  there,  for 
Ray  was  no  reader.  It  was  the  questioner  who 
looked  dissatisfied,  and  the  questioner,  as  usual, 
was  Mainwaring. 

For  a  moment  he  pondered,  scowling  at  Blake 
the  while,  then  outspoke  : 

"Well,  that's  all  right,  probably  ;  but  what  I 
want  to  get  at  is  the  name  of  that  other  fellow 
with  'em — Dee — something — how  do  you  pro 
nounce  it  ?' ' 

"  Depends  on  whether  you're  in  a  salon  or  a 
saloon,  major,"  answered  Blake.  "  Dartanyan 
in  one  case  and  Dee  Artagnan  in  t'  other.  What 
have  you  stumbled  on  now  ?' ' 

"Nothing  much.  Reading  about  a  fellow 
that  named  his  horse  that  and  thinks  he' s  going 
to  sweep  the  race-tracks  from  Jerome  Park  to 
Jerusalem.  Dee — what  d'  you  call  him?  I 
wouldn't  ride  one  of  their  steeple-chases  on  an 
English  saddle  if  you'd  give  me  a  thousand 
do'llars." 

"I  wouldn't  care  to  ride  one  on  any  other 
kind  ;  certainly  not  on  one  of  our  service  sad 
dles,"  said  Blake,  whose  long  legs  could  wrap 
around  any  horse  in  the  regiment.  "Those 
high,  sharp  pommels  are  the  worst  kind  of  thing 
to  use  'cross  country." 

"Not  if  you  know  how  to  ride,"  said  the 

major,  who  loyally  stood  by  everything  that  was 

regulation.      "  I'll  bet  you  any  real  cavalryman 

will  tell  you  that  he'd  rather  use  a  McClellan 

143 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

for  any  kind  of  riding  than  any  other  kind  of 
saddle." 

"  Done  !"  said  Blake,  "  and  leave  it  to  Stan- 
nard  or  Ray."  And  here  he  kicked  across 
under  the  table  to  rouse  his  opposite  fellow- 
member  to  full  rejoicing  in  the  colloquy,  for 
Mainwaring  couldn't  bear  to  hear  Stannard 
quoted  as  authority  on  any  subject,  and  was 
sure  that  Ray  was  a  vastly  overrated  officer. 

"What  does  Stannard  know  about  it,  any 
how?"  bristled  Mainwaring:  "he  never  rode 
anything  but  a  McClellan.  And  as  for  Ray,  I 
know  a  dozen  better  riders  and  cavalrymen  who 
agree  with  me." 

"All  right.  You  come  out  to  the  hurdles 
after  court  adjourns,  major,  and  we'll  give  you 
a  chance  to  see  the  difference.  That  pretty 
mare  of  Mrs.  Ray's  is  to  have  a  jumping-lesson 
this  afternoon,  and  you  can  try  both  saddles 
and  systems,  if  you  like." 

But  the  re-entrance  of  the  judge-advocate 
with  the  prisoner  put  a  stop  to  the  chat,  and 
Mainwaring  called  the  court  to  order. 

A  week  had  rolled  by  since  the  night  of  the 
assault  on  Sergeant  Merriweather  and  the  stab 
bing  of  Sheriff  Conway.  The  first  episode 
seemed  to  have  died  out  of  the  interest  of  even 
the  few  who  knew  of  it,  for  Merriweather' s  lips 
were  sealed,  but  the  second  was  still  the  topic 
of  excited  talk. 

And  well  it  might  be.  Armed  with  a  warrant, 
144 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

so  he  claimed,  for  the  arrest  of  certain  soldiers 
of  the  garrison,  Conway  had  come  to  the  post 
about  tattoo  that  evening,  had  stopped  at  the 
guard-house  and  asked  to  see  Prisoner  Healy, 
a  soldier  under  charges  of  assault  and  robbery 
of  a  fellow-trooper  only  a  few  weeks  before. 
Healy  and  a  companion  confined  as  an  accom 
plice  had  sawed  their  way  out  and  escaped,  as 
has  been  told,  but  the  former  was  recaptured 
and  brought  back.  He  was  a  merry  little 
Irishman,  an  almost  universal  favorite  before 
the  trouble  occurred.  The  garrison  declared 
to  a  man  he  couldn't  have  had  a  hand  in  the 
robbery,  though  it  was  probable  he  couldn't 
have  kept  out  of  the  assault.  But  evidence  of 
a  serious  character  was  piled  up  against  him 
when  he  made  the  suspicious  attempt  to  get 
away.  Conway  was  possessed  with  the  idea 
that  Healy  knew  something  about  the  train-rob 
bery.  No  one  could  surely  identify  any  of  the 
seven  languishing  in  Butte's  stronghold,  and 
the  sheriff  was  at  his  wits'  end.  The  officer  of 
the  guard  had  gone  over  to  get  his  heavy  coat 
and  to  change  into  rough  rig  for  the  night  when 
Conway  appeared,  and  an  over-confident  ser 
geant,  detailing  a  sentry  to  stand  close  by,  per 
mitted  Healy  to  come  out  of  the  prison-room 
and  be  questioned.  At  first  the  young  Irishman 
was  stubborn  and  would  tell  nothing,  but  grad 
ually  he  made  admissions  and  kept  glancing 
fearfully  over  his  shoulder  as  though  he  thought 
10  145 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

the  sentry  might  hear.  So  Conway  drew  him 
around  behind  the  portico  of  the  heavy  log 
structure,  and  told  the  sentry  to  come  no  nearer  : 
he  would  be  responsible.  The  very  next  min 
ute  the  sentry  heard  a  stifled  cry,  a  scuffle. 
Healy  darted  away  like  a  shot  into  the  darkness. 
The  sentry  and  the  guard  pursued  in  vain,  and 
Conway  lay  stabbed  to  the  hilt  of  a  ghastly- 
looking  knife.  He  had  bled  almost  to  death 
before  the  surgeon  reached  him  or  unskilled 
hands  could  check  the  flow.  Now  he  was  lying 
at  the  post  hospital,  slowly  convalescing,  but 
very  weak  and  dazed. 

The  question  was,  what  had  become  of 
Healy  ?  Where  was  he  in  hiding  ?  for  no  man 
answering  his  description  had  boarded  the 
Transcontinental  trains  far  or  near.  Butte  was 
a  big,  straggling  frontier  town,  illimitable  in  its 
future  possibilities,  said  the  "promoters,"  and 
equally  illimitable  in  present  devices  for  con 
cealing  stolen  property  or  stealing  practitioners. 
Butte  had  a  large  floating  population  and  small 
sinking  fund,  the  latter  devoted  to  rewards  for 
capture  of  malefactors,  and  Conway  had  a 
wide-spread  reputation  for  sleepless  vigilance 
and  luckless  ventures.  He  made  many  ar 
rests,  and  nearly  as  many  errors  in  the  eyes 
of  the  law,  since  convictions  were  few  and  far 
between.  He  had  gloried  in  his  seven  des 
peradoes  just  about  forty-eight  hours.  Then, 
as  man  after  man  looked  them  over  and  said 
146 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

he  couldn't  testify  against  them,  as  they  proved 
to  be  perfect  strangers,  Conway's  face  grew 
lined  and  anxious.  It  began  to  look  as  though 
failure  were  again  about  to  stamp  him,  when 
some  one  suggested  that  Pat  Healy  at  the  post 
could  tell  him  all  he  wanted  to  know,  and 
somebody  else  whispered  that  the  sooner  he 
got  every  man  even  remotely  connected  with 
the  robbery  the  better  would  it  be  for  his 
chance  of  re-election.  Then  he  came  to  Ran 
som  trebly  armed,  but  his  very  first  victim 
proved  far  too  clever,  adroit,  and  dangerous. 
The  knife  was  driven  furiously,  and  it  was 
God's  mercy  the  sheriff  was  not  killed  outright. 
And  then  Miss  Leroy,  the  Mainwarings' 
guest,  had  developed  an  odd  fad  for  an  Eastern 
girl.  A  more  independent  young  woman  had 
never  been  seen  at  Ransom.  She  was  always 
unlike  other  girls,  said  Mrs.  Mainwaring. 
She  had  always  visited  the  poor  and  needy 
at  home,  and  had  headed  all  manner  of  char 
itable  schemes  as  a  young  girl,  and  had  a 
mania  for  reading  aloud  to  the  sick.  Few  of 
the  ladies  of  the  — th,  deeply  imbued  though 
some  of  them  were  with  religious  faith,  had 
ever  thought  it  their  duty  to  visit  the  patients  in 
the  big  post  hospital.  The  surgeon  and  the 
steward  did  all  that.  The  young  assistant  sur 
geon  was  a  bachelor  and  susceptible.  Miss  Le 
roy 's  plea  to  be  allowed  to  visit  the  hospital  was 
eagerly  granted,  and  he  himself  was  there  to 
147 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


escort  her.  One  of  the  first  patients  to  interest 
her  was  Sheriff  Conway,  to  whom  she  was  now 
reading  aloud  an  hour  every  morning.  Mild 
raillery  had  no  effect  upon  her.  Expostulation 
was  not  resorted  to,  for  it  speedily  developed 
that,  with  all  her  slender,  dainty  physique,  Miss 
Leroyhad  a  vigorous,  if  placid,  will  of  her  own. 
The  post  surgeon  had  said  there  was  no  harm 
whatever,  in  fact  it  was  a  blessing  to  more  pa 
tients  than  one,  therefore  by  all  means  let  Miss 
Leroy  keep  it  up.  Thereafter  there  was  no  one 
to  say  her  nay.  Secretly  Mrs.  Mainwaring  had 
hoped  the  colonel  and  her  husband  would  ex 
press  disapproval,  but,  with  the  perversity  of 
their  sex,  they  persisted  in  saying  to  Miss  Leroy 
that  she  was  an  angel  of  goodness,  and  it  was 
a  wonder  that  other  women  had  not  done  like 
wise  long  before.  By  the  time  she  had  been 
three  weeks  at  Ransom  Kate  Leroy  was  better 
known  and  infinitely  better  loved  in  the  quar 
ters  of  the  married  soldiers  whose  little  ones 
were  ailing,  and  in  the  wards  of  the  big  hos 
pital,  than  all  but  two  or  three  of  the  ladies  of 
the  regiment.  It  was  a  new  departure  at  the 
post. 

Day  after  day,  then,  was  she  to  be  seen,  each 
morning  about  ten  o'clock,  on  her  way  to  her 
patients,  and  with  them  she  would  stay  until 
orderly  call  sounded  at  noon.  There  were  four 
men  in  hospital  when  she  began  ;  there  were 
seven  men  at  the  end  of  the  week,  and  the 
148 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

doctor  said  she  was  making  it  too  attractive  a 
place  after  all. 

"  Next  thing,"  said  Wilkins,  "she'll  be  after 
beatifying  the  gyard-house. '  * 

Mrs.  Mainwaring  found  that  telling  her  niece 
what  people  said  about  this  fad  of  hers  had 
no  effect  whatever.  So  she  went  a  bit  further, 
and  told  her  things  people  really  had  not  said, 
but  might  say  ;  this,  too,  fell  harmless.  After 
noons  and  evenings  Miss  Leroy  was  ready  to 
devote  to  social  duties  and  Mrs.  Mainwaring, 
but  the  morning  readings  to  the  men  in  the 
convalescent  ward  went  on  without  interruption 
or  noteworthy  incident  an  entire  week  ;  then 
came  a  change  in  the  arrangement. 

True  to  his  colors,  Mainwaring  was  out  at 
the  hurdles  ten  minutes  before  anybody  else 
that  afternoon,  and  loudly  calling  for  Blake  to 
come  and  make  good  his  word.  He  came 
soon  enough,  Mrs.  Ray  and  Mrs.  Blake,  two 
charming  women,  with  him.  Presently  out 
rode  Captain  Billy  on  his  old  favorite  "  Dandy," 
now  a  sedate  steed  over  ten  years  of  age  ;  after 
him  strode  his  Irish  groom  Hogan,  leading  a 
beautiful  little  bay  mare,  all  points  and  elas 
ticity,  a  spirited,  dancing  creature,  with  dainty 
head  and  legs,  brilliant  eyes,  pretty  pointed 
ears,  and  a  satin  coat  that  fairly  glistened.  The 
hurdles  were  at  the  edge  of  the  drill-ground  on 
the  northeast  side  of  the  post,  and  no  sooner 
was  the  party  sighted  from  the  barracks  than  a 
149 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

number  of  troopers  made  their  way  to  the  fence, 
and,  with  appreciative  eyes,  stood  watching  at 
respectful  distance  the  preparation  for  Stella's 
first  lesson  with  side-saddle  and  skirt. 

Among  the  men  was  Sergeant  Merriweather, 
still  discolored  as  to  his  face,  but  an  interested 
spectator  for  all  that,  Mainwaring,  Ray,  and 
Blake  were  in  riding  dress,  Mainwaring  and 
Ray  in  saddle,  and  Mainwaring' s  first  bellow 
was,  ' '  Now,  where*  s  your  English  saddle  ?' ' 

"Coming,"  said  Blake,  coolly,  and  pointed 
towards  the  stables,  whence,  at  easy  gait,  a  tall, 
slender  soldier  came  riding  a  troop  horse,  car 
rying  something  over  his  arm.  Blake  recog 
nized  at  once  Ray's  recent  acquisition,  Hunter. 
Mainwaring  stopped  glaring  at  Blake,  turned 
and  gazed  at  the  new-comer  with  all  his  eyes, 
and  then  whirled  in  saddle  towards  Ray  and 
ejaculated,  "Well,  I'll  be  damned!"  There 
were  times  when  even  the  presence  of  ladies 
couldn't  restrain  Mainwaring' s  impulse  to  ver 
bal  outbreaks. 

"  Thought  you  had  a  whole  troop  of  rough 
riders,  Ray,"  said  he,  after  again  glowering  at 
the  new-comer  until  he  grew  tired  of  the  calm 
indifference  which  rewarded  his  gaze.  ' '  This 
ain't  one  of  your  lot,  is  it?  I've  seem  him 
before." 

"Yes,  the  day  you  persuaded  him  not  to 
enlist,"  laughed  Ray,  good-naturedly.  "I 
roped  him  in  afterwards."  Then,  lowering 
150 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

his  voice,  "  He's  got  a  hand  on  a  horse's  mouth 
as  light  as  a  child's." 

The  tall  recruit  had  dismounted  from  his  own 
troop-horse,  and,  having  thrown  the  reins  over 
a  picket  of  the  fence,  was  now  quietly  ap 
proaching  Stella,  with  a  light  English  saddle 
in  his  hand.  Hogan,  dismounted,  was  petting 
her  glossy  neck  and  speaking  soothingly,  but 
the  pretty  creature,  with  ears  erect,  was  switch 
ing  about,  apparently  hunting  for  something  at 
which  to  shy,  and  the  ladies'  furs  gave  her 
ready  excuse.  The  moment  Mrs.  Ray  stepped 
forward  to  pat  her,  Stella  backed  vigorously, 
dragging  Hogan  with  her,  and,  despite  Ray's 
practised  hand  extended  to  aid,  back  she  per 
sisted  in  going,  until  she  bumped  into  the  hur 
dle-post.  This  furnished  excuse  for  a  kick  and 
a  plunge.  Ray  sprang  from  his  saddle,  and, 
telling  Hogan  to  look  after  Dandy,  himself  took 
Stella's  bit  and  began  Blue  Grass  expostula 
tion,  which  seemed  more  intelligible  than  Irish. 
At  all  events,  the  mettlesome  creature  quieted 
down  long  enough  to  admit  of  Hunter's  ap 
proach,  and  that  tall,  silent  young  soldier 
quickly  set  and  girthed  the  saddle,  and  then, 
at  a  nod  from  his  captain,  vaulted  on  her  back, 
Ray  letting  go  the  moment  the  reins  were 
gathered. 

And  then  did  Stella  dance  nimbly,  daintily 
about,  playful  and  spirited,  but  not  in  the  least 
vicious,  Hunter  giving  her  head  abundant  room 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

to  toss,  and  maintaining  only  light  and  easy 
pressure  on  the  bit.  Mainwaring  sniffed  dis 
dainfully  at  the  uncavalrylike  pose,  the  long, 
flat  seat,  the  knees  far  to  the  front,  the  feet 
set  home  in  the  stirrups  and  away  forward. 
He  sniffed  still  more  when  Stella  began  to 
bound  and  curvet,  and  Hunter  rose  slightly 
in  his  stirrups,  riding  lightly,  springingly,  and 
never  thinking  of  sitting  fast.  Ray  called  to 
Merriweather  to  bring  one  or  two  men  and 
come  over  to  the  hurdles,  and  without  an  audi 
ble  word,  the  order  was  obeyed,  though  it  was 
remarked  at  the  time  that  the  sergeant  hesi 
tated  a  bit,  possibly  because  of  his  disfigured 
face. 

' '  Try  her  over  the  bar  first,  Ray, ' '  said  Main- 
waring.  And,  with  a  man  stationed  at  each 
post  and  the  bar  set  easily  nearly  three  feet 
from  the  ground,  Hunter  guided  his  pretty 
mount  to  the  spot,  let  her  sniff  at  and  examine 
the  strange  affair,  then  as  quietly  rode  her  a 
dozen  yards  away,  turned  her  head  to  the  bar, 
and,  relaxing  the  reins,  gave  her  the  hint  to  go, 
his  long  sinewy  legs  close  pressed  to  the  saddle. 
Stella  came  at  it  delightedly,  but  changed  her 
mind  with  the  second  stride,  and  would  have 
flown  the  track  but  for  the  firm  hand  and  closed 
leg.  Finding  she  couldn't  dodge  and  had  to 
do  it,  she  rose  high,  and  half  affrighted,  cleared 
the  bar  and  came  bounding  lightly  to  the  turf, 
then  bolted  away  with  blood  in  her  eye  and  the 
152 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

bit  in  her  teeth.  Only  a  few  rods,  however. 
Hunter,  sitting  her  like  wax  now,  reined  her 
round  in  broad  circle,  headed  her  back  for  the 
group,  gradually  checking  her  speed  as  he 
neared  the  party. 

"  Try  it  from  that  side,"  said  Ray,  and  over 
she  popped,  light  as  a  bird.  A  third  and  a 
fourth  time  was  the  leap  repeated,  Stella  enjoy 
ing  being  the  centre  of  attraction  and  improving 
on  her  efforts.  Then  came  the  attempt  at  the 
wider  hurdle,  a  man  being  stationed  at  each 
end  to  give  her  the  idea  of  posts  between 
which  she  must  jump :  this,  too,  proved  a  baga 
telle.  And  all  this  time  Hunter  had  never 
opened  his  lips  to  speak.  Now,  in  obedience 
to  the  captain's  signal,  the  trooper  reined  up 
close  to  him. 

"What  do  you  think  of  her  jumping?" 
asked  Ray. 

"She  has  been  well  taught,  sir,"  was  the 
answer,  in  low,  quiet  tone.  ' '  I  think  she  will 
give  Mrs.  Ray  little  trouble  ;  but  she  has  never 
been  ridden  with  the  side-saddle  and  skirt,  I 
understand. ' ' 

No,  she  had  not.  Hogan  produced  the 
side-saddle  and  a  cavalry  blanket.  In  two 
minutes  the  mare  was  housed  in  the  one  and 
Hunter  rolled,  as  to  his  legs,  in  the  other. 
This  time  mounting  was  not  so  easy.  Stella 
despised  that  blanket  and  would  not  suffer  it  to 
come  near  her,  and  that  blanket  was  to  be 
153 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

tried  in  lieu  of  a  riding-skirt.  Mainwaring  sat 
on  his  horse,  shouting  all  manner  of  suggestions, 
sorely  trying  Ray's  sense  of  subordination. 
At  last,  impatiently,  he  hazarded  the  remark, 
"Phoo,  Ray,  that  man  can't  ride.  There's  a 
dozen  men  in  my  old  troop  would  have  had 
her  over  the  hurdle,  blanket  and  all,  by  this 
time." 

The  blood  rushed  to  Hunter's  face,  and  he 
bit  his  lip  hard.  Thus  far  Ray  had  been  hold 
ing  the  mare's  head  by  the  bit, — a  hub,  so  to 
speak,  about  which  she  circled,  first  one  way, 
then  the  other,  to  dodge  the  blanket-swathed 
form.  Now  the  trooper  was  heard  to  speak. 

"Pardon  me,  captain,  but  may  I  take  her 
myself." 

Instantly  the  two  ladies  exchanged  a  glance. 
' '  I  told  you  he  looked  like  a  gentleman, ' '  said 
Mrs.  Ray,  in  low  tone. 

Then  began  a  very  pretty  piece  of  coaxing. 
With  one  firm  hand  at  the  bit,  the  blanket  still 
strapped  about  his  waist,  Trooper  Hunter  had 
managed  to  reach  Stella's  neck  with  his  right 
hand,  and,  patting  her  softly,  was  murmuring 
gently.  "  Makin*  love  to  her  in  Irish,"  Hogan 
muttered  to  Duffy.  Several  additions  had  been 
made  to  the  group  by  this  time.  The  colonel, 
Dana  by  his  side,  and  followed  by  his  orderly, 
came  riding  around  from  the  direction  of  the 
stables,  and,  doffing  his  cap  to  the  ladies,  sat 
in  saddle  an  interested  spectator.  Several  wives 
154 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

and  children  of  the  soldiers  had  been  attracted 
from  their  quarters  to  the  fence,  while  a  little 
farther  back,  aloof  from  the  general  run  of 
Sudstown  people,  with  a  pale-blue  shawl,  one 
of  Mrs.  Freeman's  discarded  evening  wraps, 
over  her  head,  pretty  Mrs.  Merriweather  stood 
at  gaze.  Hunter  slowly  lifted  an  edge  of  the 
blanket  and  let  Stella  nose  it,  which  she  did, 
feigned  to  be  much  frightened,  and  attempted 
again  to  pull  away.  But  at  last,  wearying  of 
fruitless  efforts,  she  consented  to  smell  of  it, 
and  then  nudged  it  disdainfully  aside.  The  next 
thing  she  knew,  Hunter  had  slipped  both  hands 
back,  one  to  the  pommel,  the  other  to  her 
mane,  and  with  agile  spring  alighted  on  the 
saddle,  threw  the  right  leg  over  the  horn,  and, 
despite  her  plunging,  Stella  found  herself  once 
more  under  his  weight,  firmly  held  as  ever. 
Five  minutes'  petting  made  her  forget  her  bur 
den,  even  when  shown  the  shadow  of  the  skirt. 
In  less  than  ten  she  had  leaped  the  hurdle  to 
and  fro  half  a  dozen  times,  and  was  realizing 
she  had  made  a  fool  of  herself.  And  then 
some  unhallowed  inspiration  seized  the  major. 

"What  I  want  is  to  see  how  she'll  behave 
under  a  cavalry  saddle. — You've  ridden  one 
often  enough,  I  suppose  ?' '  he  said,  scowling  at 
Hunter. 

'  *  Never  until  I  came  here,  sir. ' ' 

"  Mean  to  tell  me  you've  never  been  in  the 
cavalry  ?' ' 

155 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"  I  told  the  major  as  much  a  fortnight  ago/' 
was  the  firm  yet  respectful  reply. 

4 *  Well,  where* d  you  learn  to  ride,  then?" 
asked  Mainwaring,  who  had  a  fixed  idea  that 
no  one  not  of  the  cavalry  could  be  at  home  in 
the  saddle  ;  this,  too,  despite  long  years  among 
vaqueros,  Comanches,  and  cowboys. 

"  I  learned  to  ride  as  a  boy,  sir." 

"  Well,  dismount  and  put  on  that  McClellan 
saddle,"  said  Mainwaring,  curtly. 

Atherton  heard  the  order,  saw  the  quick 
glance  of  the  soldier  towards  his  captain,  and 
the  half-vexed  expression  in  Ray's  face,  and, 
glancing  at  Mrs.  Ray,  hesitated  no  longer. 

"  No,  no,  major,  don't  change  the  saddle. 
Let  us  see  how  she'll  take  the  bar  again.  Set 
it  loosely,  you  men,  so  that  it  will  slide  off  the 
pegs  if  she  strikes." 

Sergeant  Merriweather  was  busily  setting  the 
peg  at  three  feet  again,  when,  glancing  up  to 
see  that  the  opposite  end  was  at  the  same 
notch,  he  caught  sight  of  the  slender  figure  of 
his  wife  standing  well  back  of  the  group  at  the 
fence,  her  eyes  fixed,  not  on  him  or  on  the 
ladies,  but,  with  deep,  intense  interest  in  her 
gaze,  upon  the  tall,  erect  young  soldier  on  the 
spirited  mare.  Up  to  this  moment  Merri 
weather  had  been  silently  carrying  out  his  in 
structions,  all  his  attention  given  to  them  or  to 
Stella.  Of  the  man  in  saddle  he  took  appar 
ently  no  notice  whatever.  Now,  forgetting 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

everything  else  in  hand,  he  stood  there,  half 
bent  over,  gazing,  with  heaven  only  knows 
what  thoughts  surging  through  his  brain,  straight 
and  steadfast  at  his  unconscious  wife. 

"Sergeant,  don't  you  hear?"  At  last  the 
impatient  words  seemed  to  reach  him,  and  the 
flustered  face  of  his  comrade  at  the  opposite  post 
recalled  him  to  himself.  "  The  captain  says  set 
it  at  three  feet  six.  Quick  !  She' s  coming. ' ' 

Coming  she  was,  with  a  rush,  Hunter's 
hands  held  low  on  her  withers,  his  legs  dan 
gling  on  the  near  side  as  she  bounded  over  the 
springy  turf.  Merri weather  jerked  out  the 
iron  peg  and  thrust  it  into  the  three-six  hole, 
lifting  the  bar  as  he  did  so,  but  turning  the 
hook  of  the  pin  upward  instead  of  down.  It 
was  no  leap  at  all.  There  was  no  reason  why 
she  should  strike,  no  reason  why,  if  she  did 
strike,  any  harm  would  occur.  But  it  was  all 
done  in  a  second  of  time.  Sitting  sideways, 
instead  of  astride,  Hunter  was  at  a  disadvan 
tage.  He  could  not  "lift  her"  as  he  was  ac 
customed.  The  excited  creature  dashed  at  the 
bar  as  though  reckless  of  its  added  height ;  the 
off  forefoot  struck  the  tough,  unyielding  wood, 
tripped  her,  threw  her  headlong  on  the  turf, 
hurling  Hunter,  blanket,  and  herself  in  a  con 
fused  and  rolling  heap.  A  woman's  shriek 
went  up  at  the  instant,  but  it  came  not  from 
the  lips  of  the  women  on  the  field. 

It  seemed  but  another  instant  before  Hunter 
157 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

was  on  his  feet,  reins  in  hand,  while  Stella  was 
struggling  to  rise.  Forgetful  of  himself,  he 
sought  to  see  if  the  mare  were  harmed.  Ray 
and  Hogan  sprang  to  his  side.  "  Are  you  hurt, 
man  ?' '  they  eagerly  asked,  but  he  laughed  it  off. 

"Not  at  all,  sir.  I'm  only  troubled  about 
her." 

Panting,  wide-eyed,  and  startled,  Stella 
stood,  with  heaving  flanks,  wondering  what  it 
all  meant.  Ray  hastened  to  reassure  his  wife. 
Atherton  rode  up  to  satisfy  himself  the  soldier 
was  uninjured.  Over  beyond  the  roadway  and 
fence  two  of  the  laundresses  were  leading  Mrs. 
Merriweather,  shocked  and  actually  weeping, 
away.  At  them  the  sergeant  stood  gazing  fix 
edly,  his  discolored  face  working  with  passion, 
and  Captain  Blake  had  twice  to  bid  him  pick 
up  the  bar  before  he  answered  and  obeyed. 

"That's  what  you  call  a  stand-off,  I  sup 
pose,  ' '  muttered  the  man  at  the  opposite  post, 
as  Merriweather  brushed  him  by.  "  Don't  tell 
me  I  don't  know  who  floored  you.'*  But  the 
sergeant  never  heard.  He  was  hastening  after 
his  wife. 

"  Ray,"  said  the  colonel,  as  they  were  riding 
into  the  garrison  a  few  minutes  later,  "that 
was  a  piece  of  gross  carelessness  on  the  part 
of  your  sergeant.  That  man  has  been  getting 
less  reliable  every  month  for  the  last  two  years. 
You'd  better  think  twice  should  he  apply  for 
re-enlistment." 

153 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"Gerald,"  said  clear-sighted  Mrs.  Blake,  as 
she  clung  to  the  arm  of  the  captain,  after  leav 
ing  Mrs.  Ray  at  her  gate,  "I'm  glad  that 
didn't  happen  in  your  troop.  Are  you  sure 
Sergeant  Merri weather  set  that  pin  properly  ? 
Wasn't  it  his  wife  that  shrieked  ?" 

"Pet,"  said  Mrs.  Mainwaring  to  her  niece, 
just  as  the  young  doctor  lifted  his  cap  and 
looked  for  an  invitation  to  enter,  as  he  met  the 
two  ladies  returning  from  a  call  at  the  Rays'  an 
hour  later,  ' '  you  and  Dr.  Jayne  came  near 
getting  another  patient  this  afternoon,  and  a 
most  interesting  one,  they  say,  a  mysterious 
swell  in  the  Sorrels.  He  might  serve  to  make 
you  forget  the  handsome  unknown  who  played 
doctor  for  you  the  night  of  the  collision. — She 
hasn't  told  you  about  that,  I  suppose,  has  she, 
doctor  ?'  * 

"'M — ah,  no,  no  indeed,"  said  Dr.  Jayne, 
in  evident  dismay.  '  *  What  was  he  like,  pray  ?' ' 

"Oh,  divinely  tall  and  most  divinely  fair," 
said  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  laughing.  ' '  Kate  has 
his  flask  and  handkerchief  yet,  waiting  for  him 
to  return  and  claim  them — and  her." 

And  that  evening  Miss  Leroy  wondered 
whether  aunts  were  always  so  disagreeable,  or 
whether  this  was  merely  her  own  fault,  and  en 
tirely  her  fault,  because  she  had  admitted  that, 
though  there  were  agreeable  men  in  the  regi 
ment,  they  were  all  married. 

'59 


)NWAY,  convalescing,  had  been  bun 
dled  back  to  town,  leaving  blessings  on 
the  head  of  his  fair  nurse  and  reader. 
Corporal  Shannon,  kicked  by  a  mule  in  the 
quartermaster's  corral,  was  installed  in  his  place. 
The  daily  reading  was  going  on  in  the  hospital, 
despite  social  duties  that  grew  more  exacting  as 
Miss  Leroy  became  better  known  and  more 
appreciated.  Over  in  the  sorrel  troop's  quar 
ters  Hunter,  despite  inflexible  reserve  as  to  his 
past,  had  won  the  good  will  of  most  of  the 
men.  Quin,  a  garrison  bully,  pitching  upon  a 
smaller  comrade  for  a  fancied  affront,  had  been 
himself  pitched  into  a  snow-drift,  and  when  he 
rushed  at  his  antagonist  was  floored  flat  by  as 
neat  a  swing  on  the  jaw  as  ever  the  — th  had 
heard  of.  It  was  a  new  blow,  in  fact,  to  the  regi 
ment,  and  the  story  went  from  barrack  to  bar 
rack  that  the  Sorrels  had  got  a  swell  boxer  as 
well  as  rider.  Curiosity  as  to  Hunter's  antece 
dents  burst  all  bounds.  Major  Mainwaring's 
assertion  that  he  had  seen  the  fellow  somewhere 
before  and  knew  he  must  be  a  deserter  was 
sufficient  to  make  the  recruit  an  object  of  in 
terest  in  garrison  society,  even  if  he  had  not 
1 60 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

won  distinction  as  trainer  of  Mrs.  Ray's  beau 
tiful  mare,  whose  delicate  mouth  and  Eastern 
schooling  made  her  somewhat  too  sensitive  for 
ordinary  cavalry  handling.  Ray,  once  the 
light  rider  of  the  regiment,  could  have  coached 
her  beautifully,  but  Ray  was  growing  bulky 
with  years,  and  an  old  bullet  wound  in  the 
thigh,  received  during  a  Sioux  campaign  years 
before,  was  troubling  him  as  winter  wore  on. 
What  no  one  understood  was  how  Ray  came 
to  select  Hunter,  for  Ray  declared  he  had  no 
previous  knowledge  of  him  whatever,  which 
was  true.  Truscott,  when  appealed  to  for  his 
opinion,  smiled  gravely,  as  was  his  wont,  and 
said  Ray  had  as  unerring  an  eye  for  a  horse 
man  as  he  had  for  a  horse.  But  it  was  in 
"  Sudstown,"  where  dwelt  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  soldiery,  that  Trooper  Hun 
ter's  goings  and  comings,  doings  and  sayings, 
were  becoming  matters  of  such  absorbing  in 
terest.  He  was  credited  with  being  fabulously 
wealthy,  among  other  things,  for  he  certainly 
had  money  at  his  command.  He  also  had 
friends  and  acquaintances — some  said  a  wife 
and  family,  or  at  least  a  lady  love — somewhere 
in  town,  for  he  had  twice  asked  for  passes, 
and  more  than  once  was  believed  to  have  gone 
thither  without  that  formality.  Mrs.  Merri- 
weather,  who  held  her  head  so  high  above 
the  other  women,  was  accused  of  "  setting  her 
cap"  for  the  stranger,  and  she  laid  herself  open 
ii  161 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

to  calumny  by  declaring  to  one  or  two  envious 
dames  that  Mr.  Hunter  was  a  frequent  caller, 
only  "  Dan"  didn't  like  it  and  had  warned  him 
off.  "  Indeed,  he  got  to  coming  too  often  for 
his  own  good, ' '  said  she,  which  meant  worlds 
of  helpless  regret  on  her  part. 

Men  sought  the  confidence  of  the  new  sol 
dier,  but  gave  it  up  in  ignorance  as  deep  as 
that  with  which  they  came  to  him.  Some  he 
laughed  at,  some  he  snubbed,  none  he  grat 
ified.  It  was  fortunate  he  knew  how  to  fight, 
for  there  were  evil  spirits  that  would  have 
mauled  him  otherwise  on  general  principles, 
but  Ray  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  his  protege. 
He,  at  least,  should  have  fair  play,  despite  the 
hints  of  the  first  sergeant  that  Conway  could 
tell  something  about  him,  and  had  even  asked 
him,  Sergeant  Fellows,  where  he  could  find 
Hunter  the  night  he  came  out  with  a  warrant 
and  was  knifed  by  Healy.  Ray  rode  to  town 
and  demanded  of  Conway  what  he  knew  or 
suspected,  and  Conway  said,  "Nothing;  at 
least  nothing  that  I  could  prove."  Ray  had 
flouted  the  idea  of  Hunter's  being  connected 
in  any  way  with  the  train-robbers  :  indeed,  it 
was  doubtful  if  the  leaders  would  ever  be 
caught.  They  were  lost  to  all  search,  deep  in 
the  Hills,  and  their  luckless  accomplices  were 
still  held  awaiting  the  action  of  some  Federal 
official  yet  to  arrive.  Stannard  and  Main- 
waring  had  had  almost  an  open  rupture,  all  on 
162 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

account  of  Hunter,  who,  daily  exercising  and 
training  Mrs.  Ray's  pretty  Stella,  was,  never 
theless,  performing  all  other  duties  with  his 
troop.  Mainwaring,  noting  how  successful 
Hunter  had  been  with  Stella,  concluded  that 
he  should  like  to  have  him  try  his  hand  on 
Velvet,  Mrs.  Mainwaring' s  saddler,  who  had 
never  been  known  to  jump,  and  was  confounded 
when  the  trooper  most  respectfully  but  posi 
tively  begged  to  be  excused.  Atherton  was 
away,  summoned  to  meet  the  department  com 
mander  at  Pawnee.  Stannard  was  in  tempo 
rary  command.  Mainwaring  asked  that  the 
trooper  should  be  directed  to  perform  duty  for 
him,  for  which  he  was  perfectly  willing  to  pay, 
or  else  be  ordered  to  cease  doing  it  for  Ray. 
Stannard  said  no  soldier  could  be  compelled 
to  perform  menial  service  for  any  officer  if  he 
didn't  wish  to,  and  if  he  did  not  wish  to  train 
Mrs.  Mainwaring' s  horse  he  should  not  be 
made  to.  Mainwaring  declared  training  horses 
could  not  be  menial  service  in  the  eyes  of 
a  true  cavalryman,  and  Stannard  said  that 
it  was  if  a  man  thought  so.  Mainwaring  got 
very  wroth,  and  swore  that  between  them, 
Stannard  and  Blake  and  Ray,  they  were  bound 
to  spoil  a  man  who  gave  promise  of  being  a 
good  soldier,  despite  his  shadowy  antecedents, 
and  again  demanded  that  he  be  ordered  to 
cease  handling  Stella  for  Ray.  Stannard  said 
he  only  did  it  for  the  love  of  the  thing,  for 

163 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

practice  and  recreation,  and  not  for  emolument, 
and  he  should  not  be  denied.  Then  Atherton 
came  back  ;  Mainwaring  appealed  to  him  from 
Stannard's  decision,  and  Atherton  said  he'd  in 
vestigate  and  decide  next  morning. 

But  it  was  decided  for  him  that  night. 

"  Ray,"  said  he,  at  evening  stables,  "  who 
ever  set  that  huge  hay-stack  so  close  to  the 
stables  had  no  idea  of  prudence.  If  it  were  to 
catch  fire  your  premises  would  go.  I  shall 
order  it  removed  to-morrow." 

Sergeant  Merriweather,  stable  sergeant  of 
the  troop  up  to  a  week  before,  heard  these 
words,  and  so  did  Sergeant  Conro,  to  whom  he 
was  pointing  out  certain  defects  in  the  mech 
anism  of  a  grain-chute  from  the  loft  above 
their  heads.  It  was  storming,  and  grooming 
was  being  conducted  inside.  Merriweather 
stopped  short  in  his  explanation,  stared  at  the 
colonel  as  though  the  words  had  dazed  him  in 
some  way,  and  then  had  to  be  reminded  of  the 
subject  which  he  was  discussing. 

The  wind  that  had  banked  the  snow-clouds 
in  the  southeast  during  the  day  veered  towards 
nightfall  and  blew  strong  from  the  southwest. 
At  tattoo  it  was  whisking  the  hay  from  the 
quartermaster's  corral  and  sending  it  stream 
ing  across  the  line  of  stables  and  out  upon  the 
bleak  prairie,  while,  still  farther  along,  under 
the  "bench,"  the  big  hay-stacks  beyond  the 
corral  seemed  stripping  in  the  gale,  and  the 
164 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

biggest  of  all  was  that  which  projected  half 
way  across  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  line 
of  gable-ends  and  just  opposite  that  of  Ray's 
troop.  At  tattoo  the  gale  was  almost  a  bliz 
zard,  and  Atherton,  ever  on  the  defensive 
against  fires,  bade  the  troop  officers  look  well 
to  their  company  kitchens  and  see  that  all  the 
ranges  and  stoves  were  securely  banked,  then 
went  over  to  the  guard-house  in  person  and 
held  brief  consultation  with  Blake,  who  was 
officer  of  the  day,  and  his  officer  of  the  guard, 
who,  as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  was  Lieutenant 
Brady,  at  whom  Atherton  looked  with  scant 
favor.  He  was  a  young  man  whom  Blake 
described  as  "one  of  the  detriments  of  the 
service."  He  had  been  fairly  well  educated 
somewhere,  had  enlisted  when  it  was  too  evi 
dent  he  was  in  no  condition  to  make  a  living 
otherwise,  but  that  was  in  the  summer  of  '  76, 
when  twenty-five  hundred  men  were  suddenly 
raised  by  Congress  to  fill  the  gaps  in  the  regi 
ments  engaged  in  the  Sioux  war,  and  the  riff 
raff  of  the  Atlantic  cities  was  rushed  to  the 
frontier.  He  won  a  company  clerkship  in  three 
months,  which  was  considered  immense  good 
luck,  and  lost  it  within  the  year,  which  was 
supposed  to  be  luck  as  bad,  but  turned  out  to 
be  the  stepping-stone  to  fortune  in  the  soldier's 
eyes.  He  was  one  of  an  escort  attacked  by 
road  agents,  and,  in  fighting  desperately  for 
his  own  life,  had  saved  that  of  the  paymaster. 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

The  sergeant  and  corporal  with  them  were 
killed.  Brady  was  "lanced"  on  the  spot  and 
came  home  a  hero,  the  subject  of  a  panegyric 
from  the  pen  of  the  paymaster,  whose  uncle  was 
a  Senator  of  much  wealth  and  much  knowledge 
of  mining,  but  little  of  men.  He  was  on  the 
paymaster' s  bond  for  a  big  sum,  and  the  next 
thing  the  — th  knew  a  stranger  to  their  ranks 
appeared  with  a  commission  as  second  lieu 
tenant,  a  glib  tongue  and  a  convivial  turn, 
plenty  of  money  to  start  with,  and  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Atherton  from  a  famous  war 
general,  which  letter  was  susceptible  of  two  in 
terpretations  and  was  written,  there  was  little 
doubt,  at  the  instance  of  the  Senator  in  ques 
tion,  a  prominent  member  of  the  committee  on 
military  affairs.  "  This  will  be  handed  you 
by  Lieutenant  Brady,"  said  the  letter,  "who 
so  distinguished  himself  in  the  affair  on  the 
Mimbres  last  year.  The  department  thought 
best  to  assign  him  to  the  — th,  and  I  have  as 
sured  his  friends  that  in  consigning  him  to 
you  I  have  placed  him  in  the  best  hands  pos 
sible."  Senator  Sivright  was  thoroughly  satis 
fied,  his  nephew  the  paymaster  a  bit  perplexed, 
but  too  wise  just  then  to  dissect  any  other  man's 
motives  or  letters,  lest  his  own  should  became 
objects  of  scrutiny.  Brady  proved  a  jolly  ac 
quisition  at  first,  could  sing  a  good  song,  tell  a 
good  story,  and  was  ' '  smart'  *  in  many  ways 
and  lavish  in  all.  There  was  a  story  (put  in 
166 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

circulation  by  a  soldier  whose  reward  for  that 
Mimbres  affair  had  been  a  discharge  and  not  a 
commission)  to  the  effect  that  when  they  were 
suddenly  attacked  by  those  desperadoes  the 
paymaster  had  crawled  under  the  wagon 
and  cried,  and  Brady  "allowed"  when  in  his 
cups  that  he  could  tell  things,  and  would  if 
not  "properly  persuaded."  Certain  it  is  that 
for  the  first  year  of  his  service  Brady  spent 
and  drank  more  than  a  second  lieutenant's 
share.  Then  the  Senator  failed  of  re-election, 
owing  possibly  to  some  shortcomings  in  his 
mines ;  his  nephew,  the  paymaster,  succeeded 
in  planning  a  robbery  that  worked  better  ;  and 
this  opened  the  stagnant  flow  of  promotion 
in  the  pay  corps,  and  left  Brady  without  a 
protector. 

But  he  held  a  life  office,  if  he  behaved  him 
self,  and,  being  a  bachelor  in  a  regiment  that 
spent  most  of  its  days  in  the  inexpensive  lux 
uries  of  field-service,  he  had  managed  to  pay 
his  debts  and,  so  long  as  he  let  whiskey  alone, 
keep  out  of  serious  trouble.  But  Brady  and 
John  Barleycorn  never  ' '  connected'  *  that  the 
former  did  not,  as  Blake  said,  make  an  ass  of 
himself,  and  his  asininity  took  shape  in  a  pecul 
iar  form  of  mania  that  afflicts  the  bibulous 
Hibernian, — that  of  imagining,  believing,  and 
telling  tales  of  deep  and  bloody  mystery  at  the 
expense  of  his  fellow-men  in  higher  social  es 
teem  than  himself.  Friends  Brady  had  few, 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

enemies  none  worse  than  himself.  He  felt  the 
isolation  of  his  lot,  wanted  to  marry,  and  was  re 
fused  by  the  girls  he  wanted,  which  made  him 
gloomier,  but  campaign  work  saved  him  from  the 
solace  he  would  have  sought,  and  Brady  had 
been  doing  fairly  well,  for  him,  when  Rawson  re 
turned  from  leave  and  gave  him  a  crony  and  an 
excuse  for  a  start.  Atherton  whisked  the  crony 
off,  as  has  been  said,  before  much  mischief  was 
done,  but  he  could  not  banish  the  whiskey,  and 
Brady  marched  on  guard  the  morning  of  this 
eventful  day,  looking  much  the  worse  for  three 
weeks'  wear  and  tear  and  little  the  better  for  two 
strong  cocktails. 

Still,  he  was  not  incapable  of  performing  his 
duty,  by  any  means,  though  eyes  and  nose  held 
out  their  danger-signals.  Blake  had  given  him 
a  sharp  reminder  at  retreat,  and  Brady  had 
taken  a  stiffer  brace  for  fear  of  consequences. 
He  was  feeling  shaky  when  the  colonel  strode 
into  the  ill-lighted  room  of  the  officer  of  the 
guard,  Blake  at  his  heels,  and  thus  addressed 
him  :  ' '  Mr.  Brady,  I  want  you  to  keep  a  special 
watch  against  fire  to-night.  Order  your  sentries 
about  the  stacks  and  stables  to  allow  no  one  to 
approach  them  with  pipe  or  cigar.  Who  are 
sentries  on  Numbers  5  and  6  ?' ' 

Brady  looked  appealingly  at  the  sergeant,  who 

quickly  produced  his  lists.      "  Reinhardt  and 

Monahan,  first  relief ;  Blair  and  Scully  second  ; 

Duffy  and  Hunter  third,  sir.    All  good  men,  sir.' ' 

168 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"  Hunter's  our  new  man,"  said  the  colonel, 
eying  sharply  the  officer  of  the  guard.  « '  Have 
you  given  him  personally  his  orders  ?' ' 

' '  N — not  his  night  orders  as  yet,  sir, ' '  said 
Brady,  well  knowing  he  had  questioned  him 
as  to  none  of  them,  day  or  night. 

"Well,  sir,"  said  Atherton,  "you  cannot  be 
too  vigilant  to-night.  Make  frequent  inspec 
tions,  and  see  that  your  non-commissioned 
officers  do  likewise."  Then,  as  once  more  he 
got  out  into  the  wind,  he  bent  his  head  to  avoid 
the  blast.  "  Have  you  cautioned  him,  Blake  ? 
He  looks  anything  but  alert.1 ' 

"  I  don't  think  he's  been  drinking  much  to 
day,  sir.  He  seems  to  realize  that  he  can  take 
no  chances.  I'll  keep  an  eye  on  him." 

There  was  a  joyous  little  gathering  at  Ray's 
that  night.  The  Mainwarings,  Truscotts,  and 
Blakes,  with  devoted  Dr.  Jayne  on  Miss  Leroy's 
account,  had  dined  there  ;  a  number  of  post 
people  had  dropped  in  later,  and  Miss  Leroy, 
"looking  uncommonly  well,  if  not  absolutely 
pretty,"  said  a  lady  friend,  was  being  made 
much  of  by  everybody,  despite  a  slight  propen 
sity  on  the  part  of  some  to  be  facetious  about  the 
daily  Bible  class,  for  that  artful  maiden  and 
daughter  of  the  church,  after  getting  her  auditors 
interested  in  tales  of  flood  and  field,  had  grad 
ually  led  on  to  the  introduction  of  holier  themes. 
By  the  end  of  the  first  week  the  New  Testament 
was  slipped  in  among  her  books,  and  selected 

169 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

chapters  were  explained  in  very  different  style 
from  anything  her  soldier  patients  had  ever 
heard  before,  and  these  had  become  part  of  the 
lesson  of  the  day.  Blake  declared  that  Father 
Keefe,  of  Butte,  was  getting  jealous  ;  but  Miss 
Leroy  was  serenely  superior  to  any  and  all  allu 
sions  or  reflections.  She  would  stoop  to  nei 
ther  controversy  nor  defence.  It  was  her  faith, 
and  that  was  enough.  The  quartermaster  had 
laughingly  suggested  that  he  thought  of  getting 
sent  to  hospital  so  as  to  become  one  of  the 
elect,  and  Miss  Leroy  had  studied  his  face  one 
moment  with  those  clear,  beautiful  eyes  of  hers, 
and  gravely  replied  that  it  might  be  necessary 
for  him  to  go  to  even  greater  lengths  before 
he  could  be  considered  worthy.  Then  Main- 
waring  had  jocosely  asked  why  she  didn't 
start  a  missionary  boom  among  the  officers, 
whereat  Miss  Leroy  flushed  just  a  little  and 
then  smilingly  replied  that  it  was  not  because 
they  did  not  need  it  more  than  the  men  she 
had  met,  but  she  had  no  surplus  energy  to 
waste. 

"Has  no  surplus  seed  to  sow  on  barren 
ground,  major,"  interposed  Blake.  "You  re 
member  the  parable  of  the  hare  and  the  tor 
toise."  Which  helped  Mainwaring  no  whit, 
and  only  evoked  a  reproachful  glance  from 
Miss  Leroy,  seeing  which  Blake  whispered  so 
that  several  heard,  "I'd  wear  sackcloth  and 
ashes  a  week  if  Mainwaring  could  prove  he 
170 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

knew  the  difference  between  Jacob's  Ladder 
and  Jack  and  the  Bean-Stalk. " 

1  'Blake,"  remonstrated  Truscott,  a  moment 
later,  when  he  got  him  to  one  side,  ' '  you  must 
be  more  prudent,  not  to  say  considerate.  Main- 
waring  is  too  good  a  soldier  to  be  treated  with 
derision,  and  you'll  make  an  enemy  I  should 
hate  to  see  you  have,  if  you  continue. ' '  Blake 
had  had  other  warnings.  His  clear-headed 
young  wife  had  already  seen  in  Mrs.  Mainwar- 
ing's  somewhat  studied  courtesy  of  greeting  that 
something  was  amiss,  and  had  little  doubt  that 
the  major  had  carried  home  his  version  of  the 
Three  Guardsmen  episode  in  the  court-room, 
which  was  indeed  the  case,  though,  fortunately 
for  Blake,  Mainwaring  couldn't  remember  the 
strange  names  so  glibly  given  him.  Mrs.  Blake 
had  sought  by  every  gentle,  tactful  way  in  her 
power  to  make  amends  for  her  beloved  Gerald's 
uncanny  propensity  to  ridicule,  but  the  wound 
was  deeper  with  Mrs.  Mainwaring  than  with  the 
doughty  major.  She  refused  to  be  mollified, 
while  he,  ever  tempting  somebody  by  his  irre 
pressible  habit  of  launching  impetuous  com 
ment  or  criticism  at  anybody  whose  methods 
differed  from  his  own,  was  as  constantly  inviting 
reprisals.  Relations  were  strained,  therefore, 
and  Blake  should  have  been  more  guarded. 
They  had  even  come  to  such  a  pass  that  Mrs. 
Mainwaring  was  finding  serious  fault  with  her 
niece  because  of  a  growing  intimacy  between  her 
171 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


and  Nannie  Blake,  and  matters  were  destined 
to  come  to  a  climax  in  more  than  one  garrison 
affair,  and  come  to  it  this  very  night. 

Mrs,  Ray  had  been  in  ignorance  of  any  seri 
ous  difference  between  the  Mainwarings  and 
Blake.  Indeed,  she  often  said  she  did  not  see 
how  anybody  could  take  Blake  seriously.  But 
during  the  dinner  it  had  become  apparent  more 
than  once.  Not  in  Mainwaring  :  he,  as  Blake 
put  it,  was  mannerless  as  ever.  Mainwaring 
talked  as  much  and  as  loudly  to  Blake  as  he 
did  to  his  hostess,  on  whose  right  he  sat.  There 
were  few  topics  that  could  be  discussed,  out 
side  of  horse-shoeing,  grooming,  and  company 
kitchens,  in  which  Mainwaring  could  be  con 
sidered  authority,  but  in  one  and  all  was  he  dis 
putatious,  challenging  the  speaker  to  prove  the 
words,  even,  as  sometimes  happened,  when  the 
challenged  party  was  a  woman  and  entitled  to 
assert  no  stronger  reason  than  "  Because." 

Mainwaring  carried  a  conversational  chip  on 
his  shoulder  even  at  dinner-parties,  and  to-night 
it  had  been  more  than  ordinarily  in  evidence. 
It  was  after  dinner,  and  before  visitors  came 
dropping  in,  and  the  five  ladies  were  chatting 
in  the  parlor,  that  Mrs.  Mainwaring' s  constraint 
towards  Mrs.  Blake  became  marked,  as  well  as 
her  frequent  efforts  at  breaking  in  upon  the 
cordial,  friendly  talk  between  that  lady  and  her 
niece. 

Finally,  just  after  midnight,  when  it  was  time 
172 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

for  all  to  be  going  to  their  homes,  Blake,  whose 
duty  as  officer  of  the  day  had  twice  called  him 
away,  again  was  missing.  Ray  promptly  threw 
his  cape  over  his  shoulders  to  escort  Mrs.  Blake, 
although  she  lived  close  at  hand,  and  with 
merry  chat  and  laughter  the  various  ladies  and 
their  escorts  were  trooping  forth  into  the  keen 
night  air,  when  Mrs.  Truscott,  who  was  foremost, 
held  up  her  hand  and  said,  "  Hush  !  I  hear 
something,"  and  her  face  took  on  an  instant 
expression  of  alarm. 

The  wind  was  no  longer  violent,  but  it  blew 
with  steady  force  across  the  parade,  and  sounds 
from  the  direction  of  the  guard-house  near  the 
south  gate,  or  the  stables  along  the  east  front, 
were  carried  out  to  the  waste  of  prairie  stretch 
ing  away  towards  the  far,  pine-crested  heights 
of  the  Elk  range.  Yet  it  was  towards  the  guard 
house,  whose  twinkling  lights  could  be  plainly 
seen,  that  Mrs.  Truscott  was  gazing.  Mainwar- 
ing  was,  as  usual,  talking  loudest  of  the  party, 
and  was  the  last  to  cease.  "Nonsense,  Mrs. 
Truscott,  you  can't  hear  the  baby  crying,"  he 
almost  derisively  exclaimed,  whereat  the  lady 
stamped  a  shapely  foot  and  spoke  as  her  father, 
their  old  colonel,  would  have  spoken  when 
his  wife  was  not  present,  and  this  time  with 
effect. 

Some  one,  panting,  came  running  across  the 
parade.  It  was  the  corporal  of  the  guard. 

"Captain  Ray,"  he  cried,  " Captain  Blake 
173 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

says  please  come  to  him  quick,  at  the  south 
gate." 

Ray  went  like  a  shot.  The  corporal  started 
to  follow,  but  Mrs.  Blake,  alarmed  and  trem 
bling,  begged  him  to  stop. 

"What's  happened?"  demanded  Mainwar- 
ing.  "Who's  hurt?'* 

"I  don't  know,  sir.  Nobody's  hurt  that  I 
know  of,  but  there' s  a  patrol  out. ' ' 

"After  some  drunken  man  of  Ray's  troop, — 
that's  all,"  said  Mainwaring,  "and  Blake  don't 
want  to  put  him  under  guard.  See  if  it  ain't. 
Come,"  he  said,  tendering  an  arm  to  his  wife. 

But  Mrs.  Blake  knew  her  own  mind,  and, 
without  a  word  of  reply,  started  straight  across 
the  road  in  the  direction  taken  by  Ray. 

"Oh,  don't  go,  Mrs.  Blake;"  "Don't  go, 
Nannie ;"  "  I'm  sure  it's  nothing  serious,"  were 
the  various  cries  that  followed  her,  but  she  never 
faltered.  "  Good-night,"  she  cried  ;  "  I'm  go 
ing  to  Gerald. ' '  Reluctantly  the  doctor  called 
after  her, — 

"  Oh,  wait,  Mrs.  Blake.  If  you  must  go,  I'll 
— I'll  escort  you." 

"Yes,"  said  Miss  Leroy,  firmly,  "and  take 
me  too. ' '  Saying  which,  she  started  her  escort 
almost  on  a  run. 

"  Pet — Kate — indeed  I  protest.  Indeed  you 
must  not  go  !"  called  Mrs.  Mainwaring. 

' '  Aw,  Kate,  don't  be  so  idiotic, ' '  shouted  the 
major,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  "  Pet"  and  her 
174 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

obedient  ^Esculapius  were  already  in  swift  pur 
suit,  and,  if  not  out  of  hearing,  out  of  sight. 

And  then,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  eastward 
gable  ends  of  the  barracks,  the  east  side  of  the 
guard-house  tower,  the  topmast  of  the  tall 
white  flag-staff,  were  all  for  one  brief  instant 
flashed  on  the  night  in  a  lurid  glare,  and  as 
suddenly  died  out  of  sight.  Away  over  be 
yond  the  edge  of  the  bluff  a  dull,  smothered, 
booming  sound  smote  the  wintry  air,  and  some 
thing  shook  the  windows  and  caused  the  earth 
to  tremble.  Then  a  carbine  cracked  and  a 
sentry  yelled,  half  stifled  ;  then  came  a  distant 
sound  of  crackling,  like  pistol-shots  ;  a  trum 
pet  pealed,  and  sounds  of  rush  and  scurry  fol 
lowed.  There  was  only  one  explanation, — the 
magazine. 


17,5 


CHAPTER    X. 

was  eleven-thirty  that  night  when  Cor 
poral  Judkins,  posting  his  relief,  came 
stumbling  along  the  rough  ground  be 
low  the  ' '  bench, ' '  and  turned  into  the  flat  be 
tween  the  quartermaster's  hay-stacks  and  the 
stables.  No.  5  he  had  posted  at  the  east  gate 
and  picked  up  the  shivering  sentry  who  for  two 
mortal  hours  had  been  swearing  and  trotting 
up  and  down  in  vain  effort  to  keep  warm.  No. 
6,  down  among  the  shadows  of  the  stacks  and 
stables,  was  not  so  easy  to  find.  When  at  last 
his  challenge  was  heard,  he  leaped  from  the 
shelter  of  the  very  stack  that  had  called  forth 
the  colonel's  condemnation  that  evening  at 
stables,  and,  between  cold  and  excitement — or 
something,  was  incoherent  in  his  formula  for 
receiving  relief,  and  had  to  be  sharply  prompted 
by  the  corporal  in  turning  over  his  orders. 
' '  What' s  the  matter  with  you,  Scully  ?' '  snarled 
the  corporal.  "You  talk  as  if  you'd  been 
asleep.  Turn  over  your  orders,  man,  and 
don't  keep  us  shivering  here." 

The  tall  soldier  who  was  to  relieve  him  stood 
patiently,  with  his  carbine  at  port.  Silently  he 
listened  to  the  mumbled  words,  "Allow  no  one 

176 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

to  approach  the  stables  or  stacks  with  lighted 
pipe  or  cigar.  Allow  no  vehicles  to  be  driven 
to  or  from  the  stables,  or  horses  taken  out  ex 
cept  in  presence  of  a  commissioned  officer, 
stable  sergeant,  or  non-commissioned  officer 
of  the  guard.  Be  on  the  alert  for  fires,  and 
keep  special  lookout  for  the  sparks  from  laun 
dresses' s  quarters  when  they  start  their  fires  in 

the  morning "  And  then  Judkins  cut  him 

short. 

"You've  got  'em  twisted;  but  you  know 
them  all,  don't  you,  Hunter?" 

The  tall  recruit  nodded. 

' '  Take  your  post, ' '  said  the  corporal.  ' '  Fall 
in,  Scully.  Darned  lot  of  use  you'd  be  to 
night.  You  smell  as  if  you'd  been  drinking." 

"I  wish  /  had,  bedad,"  shivered  No.  2. 
"Go  on,  corporal,  or  we'll  never  get  thawed." 
And  in  a  moment  more  the  tramp  of  the  foot 
steps  died  away  and  Hunter  was  alone. 

He  was  warmly  clad,  for,  in  addition  to  the 
fur  cap  and  gauntlets,  heavy  overshoes  had 
been  added  to  the  soldier's  equipment  for  win 
ter  duty  dismounted,  and,  as  there  was  every 
indication  of  snow,  the  guard  had  been  ordered 
to  wear  them  this  night.  Then  in  Ray' s  troop 
they  had  a  knack  of  keeping  hot  coffee  in  the 
kitchen  on  the  bitter  winter  nights  for  the  ben 
efit  of  their  guards,  and,  though  it  reminded 
him  but  feebly  of  the  fragrant  Mocha  of  other 
days  and  climes,  it  had  cheered  him  not  a 

12  177 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

little,  and  he  felt  alert  and  vigorous  and  inde 
pendent  as  he  began  patrolling  his  lonely  post. 
Along  the  bluff  to  the  westward  the  black  bulk 
of  the  barracks  loomed  up  against  the  starry 
sky.  Between  him  and  them  were,  close  at 
hand,  the  huge  hay-stacks,  and  then  the  scat 
tered  huts  and  cottages  of  the  married  men. 
In  one  or  two  of  these  faint  night  lights  were 
glowing.  Several  children  had  been  ailing, 
and  there  were  anxious  hearts  among  the 
lowly.  But  there  were  no  little  ones  at  Merri 
weather'  s,  yet  a  dim  light  shone  from  the  south 
ward  window.  What  manner  of  man  was  Mer- 
riweather,  anyway  ?  pondered  the  sentry,  as, 
pacing  briskly  up  the  open  space  before  the 
stables,  he  went  over  in  mind  the  adventure 
now  nearly  two  weeks  gone  by.  Never  once, 
by  word  or  act,  had  the  sergeant  shown  the 
faintest  intention  to  seek  satisfaction  for  the 
blow  that  had  floored  him.  True,  he  never 
spoke  to  Hunter,  never  seemed  to  see  him,  and 
the  accident  to  Stella  and  himself  might,  de 
spite  all  the  sergeant's  protests  to  his  captain, 
have  been  the  result  of  his  design.  Once, 
twice,  Hunter  had  seen  Mrs.  Merriweather,  but 
at  such  a  distance  that  speech  with  her  was  out 
of  the  question,  even  had  he  sought  it.  But 
she  had  seen  him  and  looked  long  and  mean 
ingly  at  him,  and  he  could  not  but  know  it. 
For  some  reason  Merriweather  saw  fit  to  hide 
the  facts  connected  with  his  absence  from  tat- 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

too  that  night,  and,  so  long  as  no  one  in  au 
thority  questioned,  it  was  not  Hunter's  province 
to  explain. 

Keeping  vigilant  lookout  on  every  side  as 
he  paced  up  and  down,  the  soldier  gave  his 
thoughts  free  rein.  He  was  glad  to  be  alone 
to  think  and  plan.  There  was  no  glamour 
about  soldiering  as  he  had  found  it,  and  it  was 
useless  denying  even  to  himself  that  he  would 
gladly  have  recalled  his  rash  enlistment,  but, 
that  being  impossible,  grit  and  pride  asserted 
themselves  and  bade  him  stand  to  his  guns 
and  give  no  sign.  Barring  the  inquisitive 
proddings  of  the  men,  he  had  had  no  active 
annoyances  after  the  first  few  days.  Would-be 
tormentors  respected  a  man  who  was  so  free 
with  his  fists — and  his  money.  His  officers, 
except  Mainwaring,  had  treated  him  with  grave 
and  distant  courtesy,  for  of  Brady  he  had  seen 
nothing  at  all  until  this  day.  News  from  home 
and  abroad  he  had  had  none  and  wanted  none. 
It  was  his  purpose  to  shut  himself  out  from  the 
old  world  for  good  and  all.  Parents  he  had 
lost  in  early  boyhood.  Brothers  and  sisters 
he  had  none.  Sweethearts — two.  One, — the 
first, — his  senior  by  at  least  four  years,  and 
now  a  staid  wife  and  mother.  The  second 
might  or  might  not  be  wearing  a  coronet  by 
this  time.  His  Grace  of  Lancaster  was  on  his 
last  legs,  and  his  eldest  hope,  Lord  Lunemouth, 
on  his  last  lung,  when  Gray  left  Switzerland  in 
179 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

April.  That  "Amy,  shallow-hearted,"  had 
wedded  Rokeby  by  this  time  was  possible,  if 
not  probable.  There  were  New  York  papers 
in  the  post  library,  but  Hunter  had  seen  none, 
would  see  none.  In  his  stern  renunciation  of 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil  of  his  old 
life,  Trooper  Hunter  would  admit  no  interest 
in  the  doings  of  Gotham.  The  one  thing  that 
bound  him  to  the  old  life  was  the  knowledge 
that,  up  to  October  at  least,  his  fond  old  uncle 
was  still  in  the  land  of  the  living.  A  stroke  of 
some  kind  had  prostrated  him  before  Gray's  re 
turn  from  abroad.  Physicians  had  prescribed  a 
long  sea-voyage.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darcy  Hunter 
had  sailed  for  North  Cape,  had  gone  thence  to 
some  German  spa.  His  health  was  shattered, 
his  mind  almost  a  blank.  She  was  still  in  the 
prime  of  life.  He,  said  the  last  news  Darcy 
had  of  him  before  starting  for  the  wide  West, 
hardly  recognized  his  attendants.  She  bore 
her  sorrows  with  the  patient  resignation  of  the 
Christian  who  knows  there' s  life  for  her  beyond 
the  grave — of  a  departed  husband. 

Of  the  remnant  of  his  fortune  Gray  had  still 
a  few  thousand  dollars  banked  where  it  would 
be  safe  until  sorely  needed.  Under  an  humble 
roof  within  the  limits  of  Butte  were  stored  cer 
tain  trunks  containing  civilian  clothing  and 
things  he  valued.  Here  at  barracks  he  had 
only  his  soldier  outfit  of  uniform,  with  the 
addition  of  better  underwear  and  shoes  than 
180 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

were  issued  by  Uncle  Sam.  One  poor  fellow 
and  his  suffering  wife,  at  least,  were  the  better 
for  the  strange  coming  of  this  eccentric  :  the 
starving  tramp  who  boarded  the  train  that 
night  at  Willow  Springs  had  now  a  roof  over 
his  head  and  hers,  and  food,  fire,  and  clothing. 
She  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  take  in  wash 
ing,  for  Chinamen  were  unpopular  if  not  un 
profitable  servants  just  then  in  Wyoming,  and 
he,  the  starveling  of  that  night  on  the  train, 
was  once  more  a  carpenter,  his  tools  out  of 
pawn,  and  he  no  longer  out  of  work.  That 
man's  actual  misery  and  suffering,  all  for  the 
lack  of  a  few  dollars,  no  more  than  he,  Hun 
ter  Gray,  had  been  accustomed  to  throw  away 
on  cigars  or  sundries  in  the  course  of  a  month, 
had  opened  the  eyes  of  the  world-weary  trav 
eller  and  given  him  food  for  thought  and  spur 
to  action. 

One  anxiety  had  oppressed  him  since  his 
voluntary  entrance  upon  the  task  of  training 
Stella,  a  duty  which  need  have  occupied  but  a 
few  days  had  it  not  been  for  that  untoward  mis 
hap.  She  fought  shy  of  the  bar  for  several  les 
sons  thereafter,  connecting  it  and  the  flapping 
blanket  unerringly  with  her  violent  fall.  Hun 
ter' s  anxiety  was  that  any  afternoon  when  so 
occupied  he  might  find  Mrs.  Mainwaring  and 
her  niece  among  the  lookers-on,  and  he  shrank 
from  recognition.  He  had  even  sought  to  get 
his  captain  to  change  the  hour  to  morning,  but 
181 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

there  had  been  fine,  open  weather,  and  Ath- 
erton  lost  no  opportunities  for  battalion  drill. 
Hunter  took  to  these,  despite  the  crowding  and 
squeezing  when  in  line,  like  a  duck  to  the 
water,  but  all  the  same  he  would  have  preferred 
giving  Stella  her  lesson  when  he  knew  Miss 
Leroy  to  be  engaged  at  the  hospital,  for  the 
fame  of  that  benevolent  young  lady's  work 
had  spread  throughout  the  barracks  as  well  as 
the  quarters. 

And  it  was  of  her  and  that  odd  introduction 
he  was  thinking  now,  as  he  briskly  tramped  up 
and  down,  peering  among  the  hay-stacks  and 
stables.  Just  before  the  midnight  call  his  post 
had  been  visited  by  the  sergeant  of  the  guard, 
who  inquired  as  to  his  orders  and  bade  him 
look  out  any  moment  for  Captain  Blake  or 
Lieutenant  Brady.  The  midnight  call  of  the 
sentries  went  round  in  rather  slipshod  fashion, 
thanks  to  the  wind,  but  no  sooner  had  Hunter 
shouted  the  prolonged  "  All's  well"  than  he 
wished  he  could  recall  it.  Not  a  suspicious 
sight  or  sound  had  he  noted  after  the  ser 
geant  went  his  way,  but  now,  before  he  could 
realize  or  dodge,  something  came  spinning 
through  mid-air,  over  his  head,  settled  down 
on  his  shoulders  with  a  jerk  ;  then  a  blanket 
was  whirled  about  his  face,  and,  with  his 
breath  fairly  choked  out  of  him,  with  only 
time  for  one  startled,  stifled  cry,  the  loop  of  a 
lariat  was  suddenly  drawn  taut,  hurling  him 
182 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

violently  to  the  frozen  ground,  and  in  another 
second  two  or  three  men  had  thrown  them 
selves  furiously  upon  him.  Despite  mad  strug 
gles,  he  was  bound,  gagged,  and  kicked  behind 
the  hay-stack.  His  carbine  was  whisked  away. 
He  lay  there  helpless  and  half-strangled,  but 
they  had  removed  the  blanket,  so  that  he  at 
least  could  breathe  and  see.  And  then  from 
beyond  the  stable  of  his  troop  came  two  more 
men  with  a  cart.  Into  this  was  swiftly  loaded 
box  after  box  of  some  weighty  substance,  the 
boxes  being  dragged  from  underneath  the 
very  stack  that  had  caused  the  colonel's  cen 
sure, — the  stack  that  interposed  between  Ray's 
stable  and  the  little  domicile  of  Sergeant  Mer- 
riweather  under  the  low  bluff.  Loaded  with 
all  it  could  safely  carry,  the  cart  was  swiftly 
trundled  off  into  the  darkness,  three  burly 
forms  propelling,  two  remaining  close  at  hand. 
Not  a  word  was  spoken  that  Hunter  could 
hear.  The  cart  came  back  for  another  load 
in  less  than  five  minutes,  and  this  time,  in 
addition  to  heavy  little  boxes  which  he  could 
almost  swear  contained  ammunition  and,  pos 
sibly,  revolvers,  they  dragged  sacks  of  oats 
from  underneath  the  stack,  and  loaded  them 
too  upon  the  cart.  Three  trips  were  made  in 
all,  then  every  man  vanished  and  he  was  ut 
terly  alone.  Raging  at  his  plight,  powerless 
to  help  himself  in  any  way,  and  suffering  not 
a  little  from  the  sharpness  of  his  cords  and  the 
183 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

brutal  manner  in  which  he  had  been  gagged, 
Hunter  managed  to  keep  cool  and  think.  At 
the  utmost  he  probably  would  not  be  left  there 
more  than  twenty  minutes.  When  the  call  was 
passed  at  twelve-thirty  his  voice  would  be 
missed  ;  the  corporal  would  have  to  come  down, 
and,  not  rinding  him  on  his  post,  would  institute 
search  ;  then  he  would  be  released  and  could 
tell  his  story. 

Even  as  he  lay  there  he  could  swear  he  heard 
the  sound  as  of  hoofs  and  heavy-laden  wheels 
crashing  through  the  ice  on  the  little  shallow 
stream  beyond  the  stables.  Presently  the 
bitter  cold  of  the  frozen  ground  seemed  to 
penetrate  through  his  heavy  clothing,  and  he 
began  to  suffer  keenly.  The  wind  blew  but 
lightly  where  he  lay  in  the  lee  of  the  stack, 
and,  though  he  knew  it  was  not  time  for  the 
sentries  to  call  off,  he  strained  his  ears  to  catch 
the  sound  of  footfalls, — Blake  or  Brady, — and 
the  sergeant,  too,  might  be  along  again.  He 
prayed  indeed  they  might  be,  for  robbery  had 
been  committed  before  his  very  eyes.  He  had 
heard  rumors  of  the  disappearance  of  forage. 
He  had  heard  the  men  talk  of  the  exposed 
situation  of  the  brick  magazine  out  there  on  the 
prairie,  southeast  of  the  post.  Only  on  bright 
moonlit  nights  could  the  sentry  see  it  from  the 
east  gate,  while  from  the  south  gate  it  was 
hidden  entirely.  He  knew  that  most  of  the 
ammunition,  pistol,  carbine,  and  cannon,  was 
184 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

kept  there,  and  at  one  time  quite  a  lot  of  small- 
arms.  The  ordnance  sergeant  slept  in  the 
garrison,  his  keys  in  a  strong  box  under  his 
bed,  yet  thieves  had  plundered  both  the  maga 
zine  and  the  stables,  and  hidden  their  booty 
underneath  the  big  hay-stack,  awaiting  oppor 
tunity  to  run  it  away  to  some  reliable  cus 
tomer  in  town.  That  they  were  members  of 
the  garrison  was  evident  from  that  very  fact. 
Townsfolk  would  have  come  with  wagons  in 
the  first  place. 

Fifteen  minutes  at  least  had  he  still  to  wait 
and  suffer,  possibly  more,  if  no  officer  of  the 
guard  chanced  to  inspect  right  after  twelve,  or 
if  the  corporal  should  be  slow  running  to  as 
certain  why  the  twelve-thirty  call  was  not  re 
peated.  Fifteen  minutes,  and  already  he  was 
enduring  torment.  Then  came  sudden  hope, 
— the  sound  of  a  swift,  light  footfall, — then  a 
woman's  voice. 

' '  Dan  !  Danny  !  where  are  you  ?  Come 
home  quick,  for  God's  sake.  They're  hunting 
for  you  now.'* 

No  answer. 

Again  the  plaintive  cry  was  repeated.  A 
woman's  slender  form  sped  swiftly  by,  turned 
the  corner  of  the  huge  stack,  and  then,  as 
though  recoiling  at  sight  of  danger,  darted 
back,  shuddering,  stumbled  over  his  prostrate 
body,  and  only  with  difficulty  saved  itself  from 
falling.  Quick  as  thought  the  woman  whirled 
185 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

upon  him,  one  half-stifled,  nervous  cry  escaping 
from  her  lips. 

' '  Scully,  you  beast  !  Why  are  you  lying 
there  ?  You  are  not  drunk.  The  liquor  he 
gave  you  wouldn't  do  this.  Where's  he  gone  ? 
Answer,  I  say.  Ah-h  !"  And  the  cold  hands 
that  had  seized  and  shaken  him  fell  away  in 
fright  at  touch  of  the  gag.  Quickly  she  re 
covered  herself,  fumbled  in  her  pocket,  found 
a  pair  of  scissors,  and  slashed  the  bands  that 
were  strangling  him.  "What  fool  work  is 
this  ?"  she  whimpered.  "  Sure  Dan  shouldn't 
have  gagged  you,  Scully,  Who  was  with  him  ? 
Who  did  it  ?  Answer,"  she  implored,  shaking 
him  vehemently.  "Get  up,  Scully,  quick! 
For  the  love  of  God  find  him  !  They've  been 
to  the  house  already — the  guard.  Somebody's 

peached.  Somebody Who  tied  this  lariat  ? 

It's  knotted  like Wait  till  I  get  a  knife. 

Lie  still,  Scully."  And  away  she  sped,  leaving 
him  to  wonder,  bound  as  he  was,  how  he  could 
lie  otherwise.  She  was  back  in  a  moment, 
panting,  breathless.  She  sawed  at  the  thick 
cordage  until  it  snapped,  then  stared  wildly 
one  instant  as  the  tall  figure  straightened  up, 
then  with  a  cry  of  horror  started  back.  "  Scully 
— No  !  What  ? — you  ?  Hunter  ?  Oh,  blessed 
saints,  have  mercy  !" 

But  the  instant  he  was  released  and  had 
gained  his  feet,  unarmed  though  he  was  and 
half  numbed,  the  tall,  athletic  soldier  sprang 
1 86 


•       RAY   S   RECRUIT 

away  into  the  darkness  and  ran  like  a  deer 
across  the  open  space  and  on  past  the  stables 
towards  the  stream,  shouting  as  he  ran  at  the 
full  strength  of  his  powerful  lungs,  ' '  Corporal 
of  the  guard,  Number  6  !  Corporal  of  the 
guard,  Number  6  !" 

Out  on  the  low  bank  across  the  narrow 
stream  he  could  see,  outlined  against  the  sky, 
two  dark,  shadowy  figures  go  scurrying  swiftly 
by,  running  from  the  direction  of  the  old  mag 
azine.  It  stood  only  a  few  yards  beyond  the 
crest.  Again  he  set  up  his  powerful  shout, 
"Corporal  of  the  guard,  Number  6!"  and 
away  off  to  the  northeast,  although  farther 
than  himself  from  the  guard-house,  Duffy  on 
No.  5  at  the  east  gate,  sure  that  something 
was  dreadfully  amiss,  was  repeating  the  cry. 
Hardly  knowing  what  he  should  do  if  he  over 
took  them,  Hunter  dashed  into  the  shallow 
stream,  in  hopes  of  reaching  the  opposite  bank 
and  overhauling  the  marauders,  but  the  broken, 
slippery  ice  trapped  and  threw  him  again. 
Down  he  went  splash  into  the  chilling  waters  ; 
up  he  scrambled,  only  to  slip  and  go  down  a 
second  time  ;  then  staggered  to  his  feet,  breath 
less,  almost  exhausted  now  ;  tumbled  up  the 
opposite  bank  ;  clambered  on  all-fours  to  the 
crest  ;  gazed  hurriedly  about  in  search  of  friend 
or  foe  ;  peered  into  the  darkness  to  the  south 
and  southwest,  but  the  runners  had  disap 
peared  ;  then  gazed  to  the  east  and  sprang 
187 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

to  his  feet,  startled.  Not  twenty  yards  away 
loomed  the  black  bulk  of  the  old  brick  maga 
zine,  and,  hissing  and  sputtering,  a  fiery  ser 
pent  seemed  dancing  in  front.  It  bounded  to 
the  door-way,  now  in  the  ruddy  light  dimly 
seen  to  be  open,  disappeared  within  a  little 
cloud  of  sulphur  smoke,  and  then  the  heavens 
lit  up  with  an  awful  glare  ;  he  felt  himself  hurled 
violently  backward  ;  for  one  instant  he  seemed 
to  see  a  million  stars  criss-crossing  through  the 
skies  ;  his  ears  were  stunned  and  deafened  by 
a  thunderous  roar  ;  the  air  was  filled  with  fly 
ing  bricks  and  beams  and  sheets  of  flame  that 
scorched  and  seared  and  blinded  him.  Then 
something  crashed  upon  his  skull,  and  he  top 
pled  over  the  bank  and  went  plunging  down  to 
the  icy  flood  beneath. 


1 88 


CHAPTER    XL 

)VEMBER  had  given  way  to  a  still 
more  wintry  month,  and  December, 
cold,  clear,  snow-white,  and  sparkling, 
chained  the  streams  in  icy  fetters  and  spread 
abroad  its  fleecy  blanket.  The  holidays  were 
drawing  nigh,  and  garrison  children  were  revel 
ling  in  hope  and  whispered  rumors  of  the  great 
times  to  come.  There  was  to  be  a  Christmas- 
tree  in  the  post  hall,  with  presents  for  all  the 
little  ones.  Miss  Leroy  was  managing  every 
thing,  and  what  Miss  Leroy  undertook  went 
with  a  dash.  The  afternoons  now  were  given 
up  to  all  manner  of  sewing  and  stitching  and 
contriving,  dressing  dolls  and  filling  cornucopias 
and  parcelling  out  gifts  so  that  no  child  should 
be  overlooked  or  forgotten,  but  never  once  did 
Miss  Leroy  neglect  her  morning  Bible  class, 
for  such  it  had  become,  and  into  the  fold  were 
gladly  drawn,  not  only  convalescent  patients 
in  hospital,  but  volunteers  from  barracks  and 
quarters  who  had  no  bodily  ills,  but  who  re 
joiced  in  souls  in  need  of  saving.  Ransom  had 
no  chaplain  in  those  days,  or  sectarian  piety 
might  have  taken  alarm  at  the  rapid  increase 
in  Miss  Leroy 's  weekday  Sunday-school.  Two 
189 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

of  the  most  devout  and  regular  attendants  of 
late  were  Sergeant  and  Mrs.  Merriweather. 
Drills  were  suspended,  it  being  now  too  cold 
and  snowy,  and  Miss  Leroy's  hospital  services 
began  regularly  at  ten.  She  would  enter, 
bright,  smiling,  happy-faced,  go  at  once  to  her 
little  desk,  and  open  the  ball.  Now,  the  Scrip 
tures  came  first, — there  was  no  longer  doubt 
as  to  the  main  object  of  her  charitable  enter 
prise, — but  when  the  lessons  of  the  day  were 
disposed  of,  and  a  brief  sermon  read  from  the 
collection  of  some  famous  divine,  the  barrack 
squad  and  Sudstown  people  would  retire,  and 
she  could  then  devote  another  hour  to  lighter 
reading  for  the  benefit  of  her  patients  exclu 
sively,  some  of  whom  were  still  in  the  ward 
with  the  graver  cases. 

And  among  these  latter,  with  bandaged  eyes 
and  burned  and  blistered  face  and  hands,  an 
unrecognizable  bundle  of  bandages,  lay  Trooper 
Hunter,  over  whose  head,  unseen,  unknown, 
there  was  hanging  a  sword. 

For  some  days  and  nights  concussion  of  the 
brain  was  feared.  The  magazine  had  been 
blown  into  a  thousand  fragments,  and  how 
many  of  these,  beams  or  bricks,  had  felled 
him,  no  one  ever  knew.  He  was  hauled  out 
of  the  stream,  feet  first,  like  poor  Pat  Shea, 
bleeding,  burned,  and  senseless.  He  began  to 
mend  in  a  few  days,  however,  and  by  the  8th 
of  December  was  occasionally  sitting  up  in  an 
190 


Miss  Leroy  took  to  sitting  by  Hunter's  bedside. 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

invalid  chair,  his  eyes  and  cheeks  still  under 
cover.  But  from  the  time  his  convalescence 
began,  Trooper  Hunter  had  spent  two  hours 
each  morning  listening  to  the  voice  of  the 
charmer  who  charmed  so  wisely,  and  there 
came  a  day  when  she  bent  over  his  couch  and 
laid  her  cool  soft  white  hand  on  his  forehead 
and  asked  him  if  there  were  nothing  she  could 
do,  no  friends  or  relatives  to  whom  he  would 
like  her  to  write,  and  he  murmured  that  he 
couldn't  think  of  any  just  then,  but  might  if 
she'd  come  again  to  ask  him  on  the  morrow. 
She  came,  and  on  the  next  and  the  next  day, 
too,  marvelling  not  a  little  at  the  voice,  the  in 
telligence,  the  language,  of  this  particular  pa 
tient.  She  strove  to  study  his  features,  but 
without  success,  for  when  the  doctor  thought  to 
remove  the  bandages  the  patient  declared  the 
morning  light  was  altogether  too  much  for  his 
weakened  eyes.  He  would  be  bandaged  in 
the  morning,  though  the  afternoon  sunshine 
was  really  more  brilliant,  and  he  didn't  seem 
to  mind  it  then.  Miss  Leroy  took  to  sitting  by 
Hunter's  bedside  as  much  as  ten  minutes  at 
first ;  then  the  ten  began  to  lengthen  to  fifteen 
and  even  twenty,  and  other  patients  waxed 
impatient  and  said  things  about  Hunter  and 
thought  things  about  her  that  proved  how  jeal 
ous  is  the  human  heart,  even  when  it  beats 
beneath  a  flannel  shirt.  The  surgeon  said 
Hunter  could  soon  return  to  his  troop,  as  far  as 
191, 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

his  health  was  concerned,  but  there  were  rea 
sons  to  fear  his  health  might  suffer  after  he  got 
there,  for  Major  Mainwaring,  now  in  temporary 
command  of  the  post,  was  making  frequent 
and  impetuous  inquiries.  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Atherton  had  gone  East  on  two  months'  leave  ; 
Major  and  Mrs.  Stannard  had  gone  to  Russell 
for  a  fortnight  to  visit  old  friends  in  another 
regiment ;  and  here,  to  his  huge  delight,  was 
Mainwaring  in  command  of  an  eight-company 
post.  Then  the  surgeon  asked  why  Mainwar 
ing  was  so  anxious  to  have  the  patient  out,  and 
learned  something  that  proved  a  painful  shock. 

11  Well,  major,"  said  he,  after  a  solemn  si 
lence,  "of  course  you're  commanding  officer, 
but  I  find  it  mighty  hard  to  believe  that  story, 
and  I  protest  against  its  being  made  known 
to  him  until  he  is  strong  enough  to  bear  it, — 
which  he  isn't  now." 

There  had  been  much  talk  at  the  hospital, 
among  the  stewards  and  attendants  and  pa 
tients  who  could  talk  at  all,  as  to  the  result  of 
the  board  of  survey  promptly  convened  at  Col 
onel  Atherton' s  request  to  ascertain  the  cause 
of  the  mysterious  explosion  which  had  wrecked 
the  magazine  and  ruined  its  contents,  and  it 
did  not  take  long  for  such  keen  scouts  and 
trailers  as  Ray,  Blake,  and  old  Wilkins  to 
make  up  their  minds.  Coupled  with  what  had 
occurred  at  the  south  gate  that  night,  just  a  little 
while  before  the  explosion,  there  was  no  doubt 
192 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

that  an  extensive  robbery  had  taken  place  and 
that  the  object  of  the  destruction  of  the  maga 
zine  was  the  obliteration  with  it  of  evidences 
of  the  crime. 

It  seemed  that  shortly  before  eleven-thirty 
that  night  two  veteran  sergeants  of  Truscott's 
troop,  returning  from  Butte  on  pass,  became 
aware  of  a  wagon  driving  ahead  of  them  as 
they  left  town  and  soon  disappearing  out  on 
the  prairie  east  of  the  road.  Now  there  was 
not  a  ranch  or  house  to  which  it  could  have 
gone.;  everything  of  that  kind  lay  farther 
down  the  stream,  where  it  swept  in  bold  curve, 
first  to  the  south,  then  eastward  again.  Rumors 
of  forage-stealing  they  had  heard,  and  there 
fore  decided  to  find  where  the  wagon  went,  but 
after  searching  awhile  in  the  gale  and  the  dark 
ness  they  gave  it  up,  yet  warned  the  sergeant 
of  the  guard  as  they  alighted  at  the  south  gate, 
and  their  hack-driver  returned  with  his  rig  to 
town.  Captain  Blake  was  notified,  and  a  pa 
trol  was  ordered  out  to  scour  the  right  bank  of 
the  little  stream  that  flowed  back  of  the  stables. 
They  hadn't  gone  fifty  yards  before  they  stirred 
up  a  squad  of  troopers  that  scattered  at  their 
approach,  but  one  was  captured, — Ray's  rap 
scallion  of  a  trumpeter  "the  Kid," — and  the 
Kid  refused  flatly  and  characteristically  to  say 
who  the  others  were.  A  privileged  character 
was  the  Kid.  He  had  been  ten  years  or  more 
in  the  regiment,  and  ten  dozen  times  in  scrapes. 
13  193 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

A  better  little  soldier  on  campaign  or  a  worse 
one  in  garrison  couldn't  be  found  in  all  the 
— th,  and  as  the  regiment  had  spent  more  of 
those  ten  years  in  the  field  than  in  the  fort,  the 
Kid  had  still  a  small  balance  to  his  credit.  He 
had  a  medal  of  honor  from  Congress  for  hero 
ism  in  fierce,  savage  battle,  and  a  record  for 
deviltry  of  every  conceivable  kind.  Ray  was 
the  only  man,  except  Atherton,  he  either  feared 
or  loved.  Grinning  from  ear  to  ear,  he  told 
Blake  that  there  wasn't  any  officer  in  the  regi 
ment  smart  enough  to  scare  him  into  giving 
away  a  fellow-soldier,  and  Blake  sent  for  Ray. 
Something  told  him  there  was  mischief  afoot, 
and  Ray  and  the  explosion  came  almost  to 
gether. 

Only  two  men  in  all  Fort  Ransom,  however, 
were  found  to  have  anything  to  explain  as  to 
their  whereabouts  that  night :  first,  Sergeant 
Merriweather,  whom  the  sergeant  of  the  guard 
had  inquired  for  just  after  visiting  sentries,  and 
solely  because  a  light  was  burning  so  late  in 
his  window.  The  second  was  the  new  trooper, 
Hunter,  found  nearly  three  hundred  yards  away 
from  his  proper  post,  blinded,  senseless,  bleed 
ing,  and  half  drowned.  The  Kid  had  told  the 
plausible  tale  that  ' '  him  and  three  other  fel 
lers  were  sneaking  off  to  town  for  a  lark' '  when 
detected.  Merriweather  declared  that  he  had 
heard  horses  stamping  and  snorting  in  the 
stables,  and  had  considered  it  his  duty,  though 
194 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

no  longer  stable  sergeant,  to  go  and  investi 
gate,  and  that  he  saw  no  sentry  on  No.  6,  but 
hunted  up  and  down  for  him,  wondering  where 
he  could  be,  and  was  so  occupied  when  the 
explosion  occurred.  But  Hunter  had  not  yet 
been  approached.  There  were  reasons  why  it 
was  deemed  best  to  let  him  suppose  no  suspicion 
attached  to  him. 

For,  no  sooner  was  it  light  enough  to  see, 
the  morning  after  the  explosion,  than  Atherton 
had  some  of  his  best  officers  scouring  the  prai 
rie  for  traces.  They  found  bricks,  bullets,  and 
unexploded  boxes  of  cartridges  all  over  the 
neighborhood,  but  not  one  of  the  forty  re 
volvers  and  only  twenty  of  the  eighty  boxes 
of  carbine,  rifle,  and  revolver  cartridges  that 
should  have  been  there.  Of  the  barrel  of  rifle 
powder  and  half-barrel  of  cannon  cartridges 
not  a  vestige,  of  course,  remained.  All  this 
was  brought  out  by  the  board,  and  the  board's 
findings  having  been  sent  to  Department  head 
quarters,  Atherton,  as  has  been  said,  had  gone 
off  on  leave ;  so  had  Stannard,  and  this  left 
Mainwaring  in  command. 

"  Not  a  word,  not  a  hint  to  that  fellow  until 
I  tell  you,"  said  Mainwaring  to  the  post  sur 
geon,  who,  an  older  man  and  a  major  senior 
in  rank  by  several  years,  was  nevertheless  his 
inferior  in  the  eyes  of  military  law  and  regula 
tion,  he  being  debarred  from  assuming  com 
mand.  And  so,  as  Hunter  grew  stronger  every 
195 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

day  and  watched  with  eagerness  for  the  coming 
each  morning  of  the  young  devotee,  there 
dawned  upon  him  no  ray  of  suspicion  of  the 
toils  that  were  surrounding  him,  for  Miss  Le- 
roy,  who  used  to  talk  at  home  of  her  pupil 
patients,  had  become  silent  as  to  one  at  least, 
and  uncommunicative  as  to  all,  for  Mrs.  Main- 
waring  of  late  had  expressed  her  disapproba 
tion  in  no  measured  terms,  and  there  was  no 
longer  that  sweet  accord  which  should  obtain 
between  aunt  and  niece. 

One  bright  morning  the  doctor  bade  Hunter 
lay  aside  the  shrouding  bandages  entirely  and 
wear  only  a  green  shade  over  the  eyes.  Or 
ders  were  orders,  but  when  Miss  Leroy  entered 
and  as  usual  spoke  to  him,  a  dainty  handker 
chief  was  pressed  to  his  face.  The  light,  he 
said,  was  still  too  dazzling. 

"  But  you  are  much  better,"  said  she,  in  her 
clear  tones.  "The  doctor  says  you  can  soon 
return  to  light  duty,  probably  before  Christmas." 

Then  as  she  took  her  seat  to  read,  her  side 
face  towards  him,  he  slipped  the  kerchief  a  little 
to  one  side  that  he  might  gaze  undisturbed. 

The  men  had  asked  that  she  should  give 
fifteen  minutes  at  least  to  the  leading  events 
of  the  day,  and  a  Chicago  paper  was  selected 
for  their  edification.  From  this  she  chose  such 
items  as  she  thought  might  prove  of  interest, 
and  to  these  Hunter  listened,  in  spite  of  him 
self.  First  she  read  of  the  political  news ; 
196 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

then  the  doings  of  great  dignitaries,  foreign 
and  domestic ;  and  then  came  accidents  by 
flood  and  field,  and  another  railway  hold-up  on 
a  small  scale.  To  all  these  he  lent  but  languid 
ear.  He  was  watching  with  eager  eyes  the 
movements  of  those  soft,  sensitive,  curved  red 
lips.  He  hardly  paid  even  faint  attention  to 
what  she  was  saying,  until  something  in  the 
names  struck  him  as  familiar.  All  the  fore 
most  part  of  the  paragraph  had  passed  un 
heard,  unheeded,  but  now,  now  only  by  strong 
effort  could  he  restrain  himself  from  sitting  bolt 
upright  in  bed  and  reaching  out  and  seizing  the 
paper  and  reading  for  himself ;  for  what  she 
read,  when  once  again  he  became  conscious  of 
her  words,  was  this  : 

"  The  overturned  yacht  now  lies  in  forty  feet 
of  water,  her  taper  masts  and  upper  rigging  all 
that  remain  visible.  Mr.  Hunter  is  doing  well, 
carefully  attended  by  Dr.  Lambert  at  the  Hotel 
des  Ambassadeurs.  The  bodies  of  Mrs.  Hun 
ter  and  her  unfortunate  friends  will  doubtless 
be  recovered  this  morning.  The  ladies  were 
caught  in  the  cabin  when  the  Amorita  was 
struck,  and  escape  was  impossible.  She  went 
to  the  bottom  like  a  shot.  English  and  Amer 
ican  residents  are  in  deep  grief.  The  ball-room 
at  the  Casino  last  night  was  almost  deserted. 
Many  New  York  and  Philadelphia  families  are 
at  Nice  for  the  winter,  and  the  tragic  fate  of 
Mrs.  Hunter  has  cast  a  gloom  over  the  com- 
197 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


munity.  Mr.  Hunter  had  greatly  improved  in 
health,  but  it  is  feared  this  bereavement  may 
again  prostrate  him.  They  have  no  children." 
The  Amorita  ?  That  yacht  was  owned  by  a 
wealthy  English  admirer  of  his  uncle's  wife. 
For  more  reasons  than  one,  Hunter  Gray  had 
never  fancied  him,  and  even  his  easy-going 
uncle  seemed  to  hold  aloof.  But  Mrs.  Hunter, 
so  much  her  husband's  junior  in  years,  loved 
society,  adored  yachting,  and  what  was  more 
necessary  for  her  beloved  invalid's  recovery 
than  the  soft  sea-breezes  of  the  Riviera  and 
the  idyllic  do  Ice  far  niente  days  and  nights 
under  those  incomparable  Mediterranean  skies 
and  on  the  Amorita' s  dainty  deck  ?  There  was 
a  late  supper  going  on  one  joyous  night  aboard, 
just  as  she  was  coming  in  from  a  day's  dancing 
over  the  blue  waters.  There  was  misunder 
standing  between  her  skipper  and  that  of  a 
steamer  over  the  right  of  way, — signals,  or  God 
knows  what, — for  when  the  Amorita  rounded  to 
the  cruel  black  prow  struck  her  amidships  and 
ground  her  underneath  the  iron  keel.  Through 
the  devotion  of  the  crew  Mr.  Hunter  and  one 
or  two  friends  with  him  were  rescued.  They 
were  on  deck.  But  nothing  could  save  the  hap 
less  banqueters  still  below.  Darcy  Hunter  had 
survived  the  wreck  of  his  business,  the  wreck 
of  the  Amorita, — had  survived  even  his  young, 
light-hearted  wife,  with  whose  remains,  said  the 
paper,  he  would  return  to  America  at  once. 
198 


CHAPTER    XII. 

jjHAT  evening  when  the  surgeon  was 
making  his  visit  to  the  hospital  the 
steward  told  him  Trooper  Hunter  de 
sired  to  speak  with  him,  and,  halting  somewhat 
in  his  gait  and  looking  very  pallid  still,  but 
otherwise  little  the  worse  for  wear,  the  tall  sol 
dier  was  ushered  into  the  dispensary. 

The  junior  medical  officer,  for  reasons  the 
senior  could  not  quite  fathom,  had  on  several 
occasions  recently  asked  the  senior  if  he  did 
not  think  Hunter  fit  to  return  to  light  duty,  and 
gave  his  opinion  that  he  was  getting  soft  and 
lazy  there.  The  post  surgeon,  for  reasons  the 
junior  could  not  fathom  at  all,  replied  that  he 
thought  it  might  be  several  days  before  he 
should  permit  Hunter  to  return  to  his  troop. 
This  in  no  wise  added  to  Jayne'  s  good  will  to 
wards  his  gentlemanly  and  attractive  patient. 
Hunter  was  fortunate  in  having  won  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  senior.  To-night  he  won  some 
thing  more. 

Standing  bolt  upright  at  the  door,  he  said, — 

' '  May  I  speak  one  moment  with  the  colonel, 
in  private  ?' ' 

The  surgeon  almost  blushed  as  he  whirled 
towards  the  speaker.  All  through  the  war  of 
199 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

the  rebellion  he  had  served,  a  gallant,  skilful, 
devoted  officer,  ever  seeking  duty  at  the  front, 
ever  ready  night  or  day  to  brave  peril,  hard 
ship,  or  fatigue  to  go  with  his  regiment  into 
action.  Time  and  again  he  had  dashed  with 
them  into  battle.  More  than  once  he  had 
cheered  them  in  headlong  charge  until  recalled 
to  himself  and  duties  that  bade  him  sheathe 
the  sword  for  the  scalpel.  Scorning  to  leave 
his  wounded,  he  had  fallen  with  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy  and  had  starved  with  them 
at  Andersonville.  Once  he  had  been  seriously 
wounded  as  he  knelt  beside  a  stricken  com 
rade  on  the  battle-line.  Twice  he  had  been 
offered  hospital  duty  at  Annapolis  and  Wash 
ington,  and  declined.  From  one  end  of  the 
war  to  the  other  he  had  been  known  among 
the  men  as  the  fighting  doctor,  and  the  fame 
had  followed  him  to  the  far  frontier,  where  in  one 
long  and  fierce  campaign  against  the  Sioux 
he  had  spared  himself  no  hardship  that  the 
humblest  soldier  had  to  endure  ;  and  the  cav 
alry  swore  by  him,  ay,  and  the  lithe,  sinewy, 
hard-marching,  hard-fighting  doughboys  too, 
and  loved  him  for  the  love  he  bore  them. 
With  all  he  was  a  student  of  his  trade  and 
gloried  in  it,  but  most  he  gloried  that  he  was  a 
soldier.  He  looked  it,  lived  it,  deserved  it 
and  everything  the  name  implied  ;  but  he  had 
one  weakness,  if  weakness  honest  glory  in 
one's  profession  could  be  called.  "I've  been 
200 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

a  soldier  twenty  years  of  my  life.  I've  won 
the  brevets  of  major  and  lieutenant-colonel  on 
the  battle-field  and  colonel  for  the  war,  but 
never  have  I  been  called  or  can  I  look  to  be 
called  anything  but  doctor.  Here  are  your 
paymasters,  commissaries,  quartermasters, — fel 
lows  that  never  heard  a  hostile  bullet  whistle 
or  saw  the  smoke  of  battle, — lots  of  'em  ;  you 
call  them  captain  or  major,  as  though  they 
were  soldiers,  but  you  snub,  by  God  !  the  one 
staff  corps  that  never  leaves  the  fighting-line 
when  the  fighting  begins." 

Now,  the  surgeon  had  come  but  lately  to 
Ransom.  He  had  served  but  a  few  weeks 
with  the  — th,  yet  Truscott  and  Ray  had  dis 
covered  his  sensitiveness  and  gladly  hailed  him 
as  colonel.  Blake  promptly  followed  suit ;  but 
when  Mainwaring  heard  it,  Mainwaring  bris 
tled.  "  What  right's  a  d — d  doctor  to  expect 
to  be  called  anything  but  doctor  ?' '  he  asked, 
explosively,  and  he  no  more  meant  to  be  offen 
sive,  or  thought  he  could  be  considered  offen 
sive,  in  his  language  than  did  the  doctor  in 
claiming  recognition  as  a  soldier.  And  then, 
as  Mainwaring  prided  himself  on  ' '  never  say 
ing  behind  a  fellow's  back  what  he  wouldn't 
say  to  his  face," — and  the  Lord  only  knew 
what  he  hadn't  said  to  people's  faces, — what 
did  the  major  do,  only  that  very  day,  but,  in 
attempted  jocularity,  pitch  into  the  post  sur 
geon  at  the  morning  gathering  of  the  officers 
201 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

and  try  to  chaff  him  about  wanting  to  be  called 
colonel !  It  stung  the  honest  old  soldier- sur 
geon  to  the  quick.  It  hurt  him  sore,  and  he 
left  the  room  disgusted. 

And  so,  when  from  the  lips  of  this  tall 
trooper  came  the  title  he  valued,  the  post  sur 
geon  fairly  blushed,  for  he  had  been  thinking 
intently  over  the  events  of  the  morning,  and, 
if  the  truth  must  be  told,  was  wondering  how 
he  could  get  square  with  Major  Mainwaring, 
and  here  was  a  possible  opportunity. 

Obedient  to  his  superior's  nod,  the  hospital 
steward  went  out,  closing  the  door  behind  him. 

"What  is  it,  Hunter?"  asked  the  surgeon, 
kindly. 

"I  have  come  to  ask,  sir,  if  it  would  be 
possible  for  me  to  return  to  my  troop  to-night, 
and  if  the  colonel  could  aid  me  in  any  way  to 
get  a  furlough  of  twenty  or  thirty  days." 

Colonel  Council  looked  up,  perplexed,  even 
troubled.  Both  requests  were  unusual  from  old 
soldiers,  and  never  heard  of  from  recruits. 

"I  fear  not,  Hunter.  You  see,  there  are 
reasons  why  you  ought  not  to  attempt  to  return 
to  duty  yet ;  and  what  can  you  allege  as  reason 
for  a  furlough  so  soon  after  enlistment  ?' ' 

"Urgent  personal  affairs,  sir,"  was  the  an 
swer,  a  half-smile  twitching  at  the  corners  of 
the  handsome  mouth.  "  Even  a  trooper  may 
have  them,  you  know." 

"Hunter,"  said  the  surgeon,  after  a  rno- 
202 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

ment's  pause,  "be  advised  by  me.  Don't 
think  of  going  back  to  duty  for  two  or  three 
days  yet,  and  don't  let  any  one  know  you  wish 
to  leave  Ransom  on  any  account,  just  now." 

For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  The 
soldier  still  remained  respectfully  at  attention, 
standing  close  to  the  door.  The  surgeon  had 
spoken  impressively,  earnestly,  significantly, 
and  Hunter  could  not  but  notice  it,  could  not 
but  realize  that  behind  it  there  was  some  ur 
gent  meaning  or  reason,  yet  he  persisted. 

"I  hope  the  colonel  will  pardon  me,"  he 
said.  "  I  will  not  refer  to  the  furlough  again 
until  I  can  explain  more  fully,  which  will  be 
possible  after  I  have  talked  with  Captain  Ray  ; 
but  as  to  returning  to  the  troop  I  beg  that  I 
may  not  be  detained  here  through — another 
morning." 

The  surgeon  was  seated  in  a  wicker-bottom 
orifice  chair,  which  he  twisted  round  and  so 
squarely  faced  his  visitor,  looking  keenly  yet 
not  unkindly  into  the  pale,  handsome  face.  It 
was  a  moment  before  he  spoke. 

' '  I  thought  you  greatly  appreciated  those 
morning  readings,"  said  he,  at  last.  "I'm 
sure  the  young  lady  has  done  very  much  to 
make  hospital  life  bearable. ' ' 

It  was  Hunter's  turn  to  color,  but  before 
he  could  speak  he  had  to  spring  aside.  Into 
the  outer  hall  came  banging  a  burly  form  en 
wrapped  in  cavalry  circular.  "Where's  Dr. 
203 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Connell?"  brusquely  demanded  a  loud,  un 
modulated  voice,  then  slap-bang,  with  all  his 
characteristic  impetuosity,  Mainwaring  burst 
into  the  room. 

Direct  as  ever,  never  noting  or  caring  who 
was  present,  he  went  straight  to  the  point. 
"  Hullo,  doc  !"  said  he,  loud,  gruff,  yet  hearty. 
"Just  the  man  I'm  looking  for.  Say,  Trus- 
cott  tells  me  I  hurt  your  feelings  this  morning, 
and  I've  come  to  'pologize.  I  didn't  mean  a 
d — d  thing.  It's  all  right.  If  you  want  to 
be  called  colonel,  why,  colonel  it  shall  be. 
I'll  issue  orders  calling  the  attention  of  the 
whole  command  to  it,  if  you  like." 

And  then  for  the  first  time  he  became  aware 
of  the  tall  soldier,  now  trying  to  slip  quietly 
behind  him  so  as  to  leave  the  room.  Main- 
waring  whirled  on  him  in  a  trice.  ' '  Hullo, 
you're  up  again,  are  you? — Well,  this  man's 
able  to  answer  for  himself  now,  I  see,  doc — er 
— colonel  ?' ' 

But  the  post  surgeon  had  risen  from  his  chair 
and  held  up  a  hand  appealingly. 

"He  is  still  a  patient  under  my  charge,  sir, 
and  is  not  restored  to  health  or  duty  as  yet.  I 
protest ' ' 

"Oh,  you  needn't  protest.  I'm  done  for  the 
present.  I'm  giving  way  to  everybody  this 
evening,  all  on  your  account."  Here  the  sur 
geon  signalled  significantly  to  the  soldier, 
and,  silently,  wonderingly,  Hunter  withdrew. 
204 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

"  'Tisn't  only  Truscott.  My  wife's  jumped  on 
me  with  both  feet;  says  I've  insulted  you, — 
done  nothing  but  make  enemies  ever  since  I 
came  into  the  — th.  Why,  I've  been  catching 
it  right  and  left,  doc — colonel ;  haven't  had  a 
moment's  peace.  What  d'ye  think  that  dash- 
dashed  long-legged  lath  of  a  man  Blake  says 
to  me,  not  an  hour  ago,  begad  ?  I  asked  him 
if  he  thought  you  had  any  right  to  feel  offended, 
and  he  said  if  you  didn't  it  was  only  because 
everybody  agreed  that  no  notice  was  to  be 
taken  of  anything  I  ever  said.  I  never  know 
whether  he's  in  earnest  or  joking.  If  I  thought 
he  meant  what  he  said,  by  God,  he'd  be  in 
arrest  this  minute.' ' 

Again  the  post  surgeon  held  up  a  warning 
hand.  * '  Pray  do  not  speak  quite  so  loud, 
Mainwaring,"  said  he.  "Some  of  my  pa 
tients  are  trying  to  sleep.  I  beg  you  will  think 
no  more  of  this  morning's  incident.  What 
you  have  said  is  more  than  sufficient.  I  am 
possibly  hypersensitive." 

And  then  it  was  the  doctor's  turn  to  be  ab 
ruptly  silenced.  For  a  second  time  the  outer 
door  was  hurriedly  opened,  silvery  voices  and 
soft  laughter  were  heard  in  the  corridor,  and 
then,  marshalled  by  Blake,  there  at  the  en 
trance  stood  Mrs.  Mainwaring,  and  behind  her, 
silent  and  a  trifle  pale  and  anxious-looking, 
Kate  Leroy. 

"I  knew  he'd  be  coming  right  over  here," 
205 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

laughed  Mrs.  Mainwaring.  "But,  really,  Col 
onel  Connell,  my  husband  is  even  more  im 
petuous  in  rushing  to  make  amends  than  he 
is  in  treading  on  people's  tender  spots. — No, 
don't  go  wandering  off  to  the  wards,  Kate," 
she  cried,  for  Miss  Leroy  looked  anxiously  up 
the  corridor  and  showed  a  tendency  to  follow 
her  eyes.  "Come,  now,  major,  if  you  have 
finished  what  you  were  saying  to  the  colonel, 
we  want  you  to  come  home.  Indeed,"  she 
persisted,  as  she  saw  how  angrily  his  eyes 
were  regarding  Blake,  "you've  got  to  come 
and  make  your  peace  with  us  now,  for  you 
were  simply  unbearable  all  through  dinner, 
and  we  had  to  ask  Captain  Blake  to  escort  us 
in  search  of  you."  Then,  as  Mainwaring  still 
held  back  as  though  striving  to  speak,  she 
seized  his  arm.  "Come.  Indeed,"  lowering 
her  voice,  « « I  must  speak  with  you  before  you 
go  any  further  in  that  case."  And  then  did 
Connell  feel  sure  she  spoke  of  Hunter. 

An  instant  later  he  was  surer  still,  for  in 
came  an  attendant,  alarm  on  his  face. 

' '  Did  the  post  surgeon  give  Hunter  permis 
sion  to  leave  hospital?  He's  picked  up  his 
coat  and  gone,  sir." 

Outside  the  moon  was  shining  brightly  on 
the  glistening  snow.  Objects  were  plainly  vis 
ible  over  one  hundred  yards  away.  Main- 
waring  sprang  to  the  door  with  excitement  in 
his  eyes  and  flew  to  the  porch,  the  others  fol- 
206 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

lowing,  in  every  stage  of  astonishment.  Out 
side  the  gate,  as  luck  would  have  it,  was  march 
ing  a  relief  of  the  guard,  the  men  swinging 
rapidly  by  in  their  heavy  winter  dress,  the  car 
bine  butts  grasped  in  their  fur-gloved  hands, 
the  gleaming  barrels  tossed  over  the  shoulder. 
Over  towards  the  trader's  store  a  tall,  slender 
form  in  soldier's  overcoat  was  rapidly  striding. 
Mainwaring's  voice  rang  out  with  the  force  and 
volume  of  a  trombone.  "  Halt  your  relief, 
corporal !  Catch  that  man  over  yonder,  quick, 
and  bring  him  here.' ' 

Astonished,  the  corporal  obeyed.  "Relief, 
halt  !"  he  ordered.  "Come  with  me,  two  of 
you."  Then  away  he  rushed.  "Halt!  Halt, 
you  !"  were  the  next  shouts,  and  all  in  a  mo 
ment  they  had  overhauled  the  offending  sol 
dier.  There  was  brief  parley,  and  then  back 
they  came,  the  unresisting  prisoner  between 
the  two  members  of  the  guard. 

"  Oh,"  almost  whimpered  Mrs.  Mainwaring, 
"do  hear  Captain  Blake  first.  He's  sure 

there's    some    mistake "   then  broke   off 

short  with  exclamation  of  amaze.  From  the 
lips  of  Kate  Leroy,  too,  there  burst  a  stifled 
cry,  for  there  before  them,  his  clear-cut,  re 
fined  face  perfectly  outlined  in  the  brilliant 
moonlight,— there,  clad  in  the  rough  garb  of  a 
private  soldier,  stood  the  courteous,  helpful, 
distinguished-looking  stranger  of  the  night  of 
the  collision. 

207 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Mainwaring  must  have  had  a  love  for  the 
dramatic. 

"  Corporal  Rice,"  said  he,  deliberately, 
"take  Trooper  Hunter  to  the  guard-house  and 
confine  him  by  my  order  on  the  charge  of  con 
niving  at  the  robbery  and  destruction  of  the 
magazine. " 


208 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

j]N  the  forty-eight  hours  that  followed  the 
arrest  and  incarceration  of  Trooper 
Hunter  one  excitement  chased  another 
with  such  rapidity  that  it  was  hard  to  keep 
track  of  them,  and  Mainwaring,  with  almost 
a  sigh  of  relief,  welcomed  the  premature  re 
turn  of  old  Stannard,  to  whom  somebody  (be 
lieved  to  be  Ray)  had  given  the  tip  by  tele 
graph  that  the  sooner  he  got  back  the  better. 

' '  Take  this  infernal  regiment  and  see  what 
you  can  do  with  it,"  said  Mainwaring,  despair 
ingly.  '« I  thought  I  knew  something  about 
soldiering,  but  there's  too  d — d  much  individ 
uality  in  the  — th  for  me. '  * 

And,  beside  Trooper  Hunter's  incarceration 
on  the  charge  of  aiding  and  abetting  in  the 
robbery  and  destruction  of  the  magazine,  the 
senior  major  had  the  following  matters  now  to 
tackle  :  Captain  Blake,  in  arrest  for  using  in 
subordinate  language  to  the  commanding  offi 
cer  ("  said  that  compared  with  my  mental  con 
dition  the  magazine  wasn't  a  circumstance  in 
the  way  of  a  wreck,  begad, ' '  explained  Main- 
waring  to  his  senior,  who  strove  to  keep  a 
straight  face,  but  couldn't) ;  Mrs.  Merri weather, 
disappeared  since  the  night  of  Hunter's  trans- 
14  2°9 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

fer  from  hospital  to  guard-house  ;  Sergeant 
Merriweather,  transferred  from  guard-house  to 
hospital  with  a  bullet  through  one  lung  and  a 
knife-wound  in  the  other  ;  Corporal  Croxford 
and  Trooper  Elzey,  deserted, — two  hitherto 
shining  lights  of  the  garrison  and  admirers  of 
Mrs.  Merriweather  (could  Mrs.  Merriweather 
have  gone  with  either  of  them  ?  asked  some 
of  the  ladies,  or  with  both  ?  asked  certain 
brutes  among  the  officers)  ;  and,  finally,  Lieu 
tenant  Brady,  back  from  a  bacchanalian  bout 
with  his  kindred  spirit  Rawson,  and  now  laid 
by  the  heels  in  quarters  with  an  Irish  orderly 
in  attendance,  for  doctors  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  him. 

The  way  Stannard  sailed  in  was  characteristic. 
Brady  had  not  been  drunk  on  duty.  He  had 
taken  advantage  of  the  absence  of  Atherton  and 
Stannard  to  relax  the  reins  of  his  self-control, 
but  had  only  got  a  real  good  start  when  he 
sought  and  received  a  seven  days'  leave  from 
Major  Mainwaring,  which  enabled  him  to  meet 
Rawson  at  Pawnee.  This  was  about  ten  days 
after  the  explosion.  He  was  to  have  stayed  his 
week  away,  but  in  two  days  suddenly  reap 
peared  in  Butte,  full  of  whiskey  and  informa 
tion.  Mainwaring,  who  knew  him  but  slightly, 
received  a  despatch  saying  that  he  had  news  of 
most  important  character  resulting  from  discov 
eries  he  had  made  at  Pawnee,  and  urging  the 
commanding  officer  to  meet  him  at  the  railway 


RAY  S   RECRUIT 

station  on  his  arrival,  which  Mainwaring  did, 
and  then  the  very  next  night  ordered  Hunter's 
arrest. 

"I  always  said  that  when  Brady  drank  he 
could  be  depended  upon  to  make  an  ass  of  him 
self,"  said  Blake,  "and  this  proves  it."  But 
what  Brady's  revelations  might  have  been  Main- 
waring  refused  to  disclose.  It  was  enough,  he 
said,  to  hang  Hunter  high  as  the  hayman,  and 
the  hay-contractor,  in  Mainwaring's  opinion, 
was  the  double-dashedest  scoundrel  that  ever 
lived.  This  statement  so  rejoiced  Blake's 
heart  that  he  repeated  it  broadcast,  and  was  in 
the  merriest  of  moods,  until  he  heard  that  Main- 
waring  had  forbidden  Captain  Ray's  having  an 
interview  with  his  imprisoned  recruit.  Then 
Blake  boiled  over  and  made  the  odious  com 
parison  between  Mainwaring's  brain  and  the 
blown-up  building  which  resulted  in  his  own 
summary  confinement  to  quarters.  Brady's 
leave  had  still  two  days  to  run  when  Stannard 
got  back,  but  Stannard  had  heard  enough  of 
his  doings  in  Butte  to  warrant  the  immediate 
action  taken.  An  officer  was  sent  with  the  post 
ambulance  and  orders  to  fetch  him  forthwith. 
Then  and  there  Dana  waited  on  him  with  the 
major's  message  to  the  effect  that  he  would  give 
him  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to  sober  up  and 
face  the  music,  and  Brady  had  sense  enough  to 
know  he  had  no  t;:ae  to  lose. 

Then  another  snarl  had  to  be  disentangled, 

211 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

in  which  Stannard  could  not  help,  since  it  was 
purely  domestic.  The  veteran  post  surgeon  had 
had  a  flare-up  with  Mainwaring,  all  on  account 
of  Trooper  Hunter.  The  doctor  protested 
against  his  patient's  being  put  in  the  guard 
house,  declaring  that,  no  matter  what  the  charges 
were,  he  was  entitled  to  humane  as  well  as  medi 
cal  treatment.  Mainwaring  said  the  man  of  his 
own  volition  had  removed  himself  from  hospital, 
and  therefore  deserved  no  consideration.  The 
doctor  said  if  Hunter  were  kept  in  the  prison 
room  with  the  garrison  malefactors  over-night 
he  would  hold  Mainwaring  responsible  for  ill 
results  that  were  certain  to  occur,  which  stag 
gered  Mainwaring  for  a  minute.  He  finally 
compromised,  ordered  Hunter  sent  back  to  hos 
pital,  but  put  in  a  room  by  himself  with  a  sentry 
at  the  door  and  another  at  the  window,  and 
orders  prohibiting  his  being  seen  or  spoken  to 
by  anybody  except  the  doctors  and  the  steward, 
unless  it  were  himself  or  on  his  own  written 
order. 

Then  Mainwaring  had  to  go  home  and  face 
the  women-folk,  and  there  for  the  first  time 
(Miss  Leroy,  shocked  and  stunned,  having  gone 
to  her  room)  did  Mrs.  Mainwaring  have  him  to 
herself  and  tell  him  of  the  identification  of  Hun 
ter  as  the  polite  and  helpful  stranger  of  the  night 
on  the  train.  Then  furthermore  did  she  add 
her  plea  to  the  doctor's,  and  finally  admit  that, 
much  to  her  own  distress  and  consternation,  she 

212 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

feared  Pet  was  actually  deeply  if  not  indeed  very 
painfully  interested  in  this  mysterious  trooper. 
In  justice  to  Pet,  she  must  say  that  that  young 
lady  was  probably  unaware  of  the  feeling  that 
had  been  growing  upon  her  until  the  denoue 
ment  of  that  evening.  She,  Mrs.  Mainwaring, 
had  striven  to  wean  her  from  the  morning  ser 
vices,  but  without  success,  and  now  she  knew 
not  what  had  happened,  for  Pet  had  shut  her 
self  in  her  room  and  begged  to  be  left  undis 
turbed. 

Which  was  more  than  "Pet"  would  permit 
the  major  to  be  next  day,  however,  for  she  was 
up  and  on  the  lookout  for  him  on  his  return 
from  stables.  He  marvelled  and  was  shocked 
at  the  pallor  of  her  face,  the  trouble  in  her  eyes. 
Without  preliminary  remark,  she  went  straight 
to  her  subject. 

"  Major  Mainwaring,  at  what  time  and  where 
may  I  see  Trooper  Hunter,  as  you  call  him,  to 
day  ?' ' 

"Well — 1,  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,  Kate;" 
for  the  major,  like  many  a  lion  among  men,  was 
a  lamb  among  women.  ' '  I — don't  think  you 
— ought  to  wish  to  see  him." 

"  But  I  do  wish  it,  major.  Moreover,  I  should 
be  ashamed  of  myself  if  I  did  not."  And  the 
reply  conveyed  all  the  more  weight  because  of 
the  calm  decision  of  her  manner. 

And  so  the  first  written  order  Mainwaring 
signed  was  one  to  permit  the  bearer  to  visit  the 
213 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

prisoner  Hunter,  and  at  ten  o'clock  that  morn 
ing,  when,  pale,  calm,  but  resolute  as  ever,  and 
smiling  still,  despite  her  sleepless  night,  Miss 
Leroy  entered  the  hospital  for  the  customary 
reading,  she  sent  the  steward  to  tell  Mr.  Hunter 
that  she  hoped  he  would  be  able  to  see  her  soon 
after  eleven,  and  then  indomitably  went  on  with 
her  self-appointed  task. 

At  eleven-fifteen  the  post  surgeon  came, 
silently  gave  her  his  arm,  as  they  left  the  big 
sunshiny  ward,  and  led  her  to  a  door-way  up 
the  corridor  in  front  of  which  a  sentry  was 
pacing, — a  sentry  who  halted  and  presented 
arms  as  the  doctor  opened  the  door  and  ushered 
her  in. 

It  was  that  night  that  Merriweather  was 
brought  back  from  town  to  the  guard-house, 
shot  and  stabbed  as  has  been  said.  Mrs.  Merri 
weather  had  fled  during  the  previous  night,  and 
the  sergeant  had  been  missing  since  reveille. 
It  was  the  next  night  that  Stannard  returned 
and  had  Brady  hunted  up.  Then  came  new 
labors  and  honors  for  Sheriff  Conway,  and  this 
time  there  were  no  troops  to  divide  the  honors 
of  the  capture  with  him,  for  his  prisoners  were 
deserters  all, — one  from  an  over-indulgent  hus 
band,  the  others  from  a  not  too  indulgent  Uncle 
Sam.  Pawnee  was  the  Mecca  of  the  fugitives. 
Thither  had  Mrs.  Merriweather  fled  to  a  married 
sister.  Thither  had  Croxford  and  Elzey  fol 
lowed,  after  having  remained  to  cover  her  re- 
214 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

treat  and  settle  matters  with  the  sergeant, — 
which  they  had  done  only  too  effectually,  for 
Merri weather's  days  were  numbered. 

Two  days  later  Stannard  had  straightened 
out  affairs  at  the  post  in  marvellous  fashion 
(all  save  matters  domestic, — wherein,  said  he, 
no  wise  man  meddled),  and  the  man  to  start 
him  on  the  right  scent  was  that  scapegrace 
the  Kid,  whom  he  had  disciplined  time  and 
again  in  Arizona  days  and  appreciated  at  his 
true  value.  The  Kid's  derisive  and  explosive 
laughter  when  told  that  Major  Mainwaring  had 
ordered  Trooper  Hunter  confined  as  accessory  to 
the  magazine  robbery,  etc. ,  had  been  promptly 
reported  to  Stannard  on  his  return,  and  that 
versatile  young  reprobate  was  sent  for,  marched 
to  the  adjutant's  office,  and  collared  by  his  old- 
time  troop  commander, — for  one  of  his  several 
enlistments  the  Kid  had  spent  with  Stannard, 
and  knew  him  well. 

And  this  was  what  the  Kid  divulged.  Eveiy 
one  knew  he  could  use  a  lasso  like  a  cowboy, 
and  Croxford  had  asked  him,  just  for  deviltry, 
to  join  him  and  "  some  other  fellers"  in  roping 
the  swell,  Hunter,  on  the  midnight  relief ;  and 
he  was  going  to,  but  happened  to  hear  that 
Merriweather  was  in  it,  and  that  set  him  to 
thinking.  He'd  heard  the  women  talking 
about  Mrs.  Merriweather' s  boasting  that  she 
had  made  a  conquest  of  the  swell  recruit,  and 
he  remembered  Merriweather*  s  black  eye  and 
215 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

the  rumor  that  it  was  Hunter  "laid  him  out," 
and  the  Kid  scented  mischief  and  backed  out. 
Then  Croxford  came  and  told  him  it  would  be 
best  for  him  to  keep  his  promise,  as  he  might 
get  the  credit  of  it  anyhow ;  which  prompted 
the  Kid  to  tell  them  all  to  go  to  Ballyhack. 
But  when  Elzey  and  Hughes  later  came  and 
''stumped  him"  to  join  them  in  a  spree  to 
town  that  night,  and  displayed  their  money, 
he  forgot  Croxford' s  threat  in  the  prospect  of 
whiskey,  and,  anything  for  a  frolic,  started  with 
them,  only  to  run  foul  of  the  patrol  just  across 
the  creek. 

But  the  moment  he  heard  of  Hunter's  being 
hauled  out  of  the  stream  after  the  explosion, 
the  whole  plot  dawned  on  him,  and  something 
more  ;  for  he  remembered  the  stories  of  forage 
and  cartridges  being  sold  in  town,  and  saw 
that  it  was  planned  to  fix  the  guilt  on  Hun 
ter,  and,  if  not,  to  fix  the  crime  of  the  assault 
on  the  sacred  person  of  a  sentry  upon  him 
self,  the  innocent  Kid.  Then  Stannard  would 
have  cross-questioned  the  two  deserters,  for 
such  they  were,  despite  stalwart  protestations 
that  they  were  only  out  for  twenty-four  hours' 
fun  ;  but  detectives,  ferreting  their  movements, 
warned  him  to  make  no  attempt.  Merri- 
weather  might  make  an  ante-mortem  state 
ment,  but  not  these  men.  Neither  would 
Mrs.  Merriweather  "peach."  She  was  in  the 
county  jail,  begging  piteously  to  be  taken  to 
216 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

her  Danny,  and  declaring  he  and  she  were 
only  going  to  Pawnee  to  see  her  sister  for  a 
day,  and  he  must  have  been  waylaid  in  town. 

But  while  Stannard  was  waiting  for  Merri- 
weather  to  regain  consciousness  and  Brady  to 
become  once  more  a  responsible  being,  there 
came  still  another  witness,  an  old  carpenter 
and  new  citizen  of  Butte,  who  appeared  at 
Ransom,  sorely  troubled  on  account  of  a 
friend  there  enlisted  whom  he  hadn't  seen  for 
many  a  day, — not,  in  fact,  since  the  morning 
of  the  train-robbery, — and  had  just  heard  of 
him  as  having  been  arrested  for  complicity  in 
the  robbery  of  the  magazine.  Stannard  heard 
his  story,  which  was  that  the  accused  was  a 
man  of  means,  a  charitable,  kind  gentleman 
who,  just  for  a  whim,  had  come  out  to  enlist 
for  a  while  in  the  cavalry  ;  that  he  had  helped 
him,  the  carpenter,  to  a  home  and  work,  and 
his  wife  to  health,  and  his  clothes  and  things 
were  all  at  his,  the  ex-tramp  carpenter' s,  house, 
and  couldn't  he  see  Mr.  Hunter?  Whereupon 
Stannard  said,  "Come  on,"  took  him  to  the 
hospital,  and  marched  into  the  room,  where, 
seated  in  an  easy-chair,  was  the  invalid  bene 
factor,  and  with  him  the  old  surgeon  and  the 
young  lady.  Dr.  Jayne,  it  seems,  had  sud 
denly  discontinued  his  attentions  to  both  the 
patient  and  the  nurse. 

It  struck  Stannard  unpleasantly  at  the  time 
that  no  one  of  them  looked  pleased  at  his 
217 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

coming  ;  but  men  are  obtuse.  A  woman  would 
have  appreciated  the  impropriety  of  interruption 
at  a  glance. 

And  even  while  they  stood  there,  hesitant, 
at  the  door,  the  steward  came  hurriedly  to  say 
that  Merri weather  was  conscious,  and  had  asked 
for  his  wife  and  a  priest  The  two  veteran 
majors,  trooper  and  doctor,  hastened  at  once 
to  the  greater  ward,  and  Hunter,  smiling,  held 
forth  a  long,  thin,  white  hand. 

' '  The  ring  I  left  with  you  would  slide  off  the 
biggest  of  these  fingers  now,  wouldn't  it?"  he 
asked. — "Miss  Leroy,  this  is  Mr.  Murray,  now 
a  resident  of  Butte,  but  a  fellow-passenger 
with  us  on  the  night  of  the  collision." 

Before  the  sounding  of  the  retreat  that  night 
and  the  boom  of  the  sunset  gun,  Sergeant  Mer 
ri  weather's  soul  had  drifted  away  over  the 
dreary  waste  of  snow-clad  slopes  and  leagues 
of  prairie,  but  not  before  he  had  made  clean 
breast  of  all  his  trials,  temptations,  and  down 
fall.  His  vain,  empty-headed,  frivolous  wife 
was  brought  out  from  Butte,  but  proved  scant 
comfort  to  his  dying  hours.  To  Father  Keefe 
and  Stannard,  Blake  and  Ray,  he  told  his 
piteous  tale,  Kittie  sniffling,  sobbing,  wailing 
at  intervals,  but  ever  intently  listening.  One 
extravagance  after  another  had  swamped  him. 
He  used  the  money  of  the  men's  Athletic  and 
Dramatic  Association,  of  which  he  was  treas 
urer.  He  stole  forage  from  the  stables  and 
218 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

sold  it  to  a  dealer  in  Butte  to  cover  his  shortage, 
but,  that  not  yielding  enough,  planned  the  rob 
bery  of  the  magazine,  which  took  place,  Crox- 
ford  and  Elzey  assisting,  one  furiously  stormy 
night.  They  v/orked  the  old  ordnance  ser 
geant  with  liquor  and  got  his  keys,  took  out  the 
boxes  of  cartridges,  revolvers,  etc.,  and,  lo  ! 
the  wagon  of  their  confederates  in  Butte  failed 
to  come.  It  was  beaten  back  by  the  storm. 
They  then  ran  everything  to  the  stack  nearest 
Merri weather' s  stable  and  cottage  and  hid  the 
plunder  underneath.  Dawn  almost  surprised 
them  at  the  task.  Luckily,  the  old  sergeant 
was  made  too  sick  to  go  to  his  magazine  for  two 
days.  They  had  arranged  for  the  wagon  to 
come  out  the  next  night,  and  then  to  blow  up 
the  magazine  and  so  destroy  evidence  of  their 
guilt,  but  again  there  was  failure  ;  and  Merri- 
weather  was  at  his  wits'  end  when  he  heard  the 
colonel  say  that  stack  must  be  moved  on  the 
morrow.  Then,  rain  or  shine,  snow  or  sleet, 
the  wagon  had  to  come,  and  then  it  was  found, 
too  late  to  change  the  hour,  that  the  swell  re 
cruit,  Hunter,  was  on  the  very  post  that  guarded 
the  stacks  and  stables,  and  would  be  there  at 
the  very  time  they  needed  to  act.  So  to  rob 
bery  they  were  compelled  to  add  assault. 

The  plunder  was  safely  run  off  to  Butte  and 
paid  for  at  about  one-fifth  its  cost  and  one- 
tenth   its  value  in  a  frontier  city.     They  got 
their  money,  and  felt  measurably  safe  so  long 
219 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

as  Hunter  remained  in  hospital,  used  up  as  a 
result  of  the  fearful  contusions  he  had  received. 
But  his  wife  had  told  them  of  her  encounter 
with  and  revelations  to  Hunter,  and  their  fears 
of  discovery  were  such  that  Croxford  and  Elzey 
determined  to  desert.  The  news  that  Hunter 
was  arrested  as  having  guilty  knowledge  of  the 
whole  affair  was  a  thunderbolt.  Now  in  self- 
defence  he  would  have  to  produce  even  a 
woman  as  witness,  and  that  woman  Merri- 
weather's  wife.  'Twas  Merriweather  who  bade 
her  go  at  once  to  Pawnee,  whither  Croxford 
and  Elzey  followed.  The  three  men  were  to 
meet  and  divide  their  spoils  in  a  certain  saloon 
in  town.  The  first  two  demanded  more  than 
their  share.  There  was  a  quarrel,  then  a  mur 
derous  battle.  They  took  all  he  had  and  fled, 
but,  with  fatuous  blundering,  had  gone  to  Paw 
nee  to  buy  her  silence,  and  there  all  three  were 
jailed.  Hunter  was  an  innocent  man. 

And  when  this  was  told  to  Mainwaring  he 
bellowed,  "  Then  what  in  dash-dashnation  did 
Brady  mean  by  his  story  ?' '  For  Brady*  s  story 
was  practically  this. 

That  he  and  Rawson  occupied  a  room  to 
gether  over  the  one  fine  restaurant  in  Pawnee, 
and  one  night  they  were  having  supper  in  one 
box  when  a  party  of  four  railway  hands  came 
into  that  adjoining,  talking  loudly  about  the 
engineer  of  783,  old  Jim  Long,  and  the  swell 
that  engineered  the  hold-up, — how  he  had  pre- 
220 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


tended  to  be  out  there  to  enlist  in  the  cavalry, 
how  he  had  tried  to  ride  with  and  get  points 
from  Long,  and  had  two  or  three  of  his  gang 
on  that  very  train  all  ready  for  business,  but 
was  scared  off  by  the  fact  that  there  was  a  car 
load  of  soldiers.  Then  when  the  train  rob 
bery  did  take  place  they  nabbed  seven  of  the 
followers  after  a  long  chase,  but  never  got  the 
leaders  at  all.  Why,  one  of  them  was  right 
there  at  the  fort  this  very  day,  enlisted  so  as  to 
divert  suspicion,  and  he  was  keeping  his  hand 
in  by  engineering  other  robberies.  That  mag 
azine  explosion  they  had  read  about  was  all 
his  doing. 

If  Brady  had  not  been  addled  he  could 
have  remembered  that  Hunter  had  enlisted 
before  the  train-robbery  took  place.  But  he 
posted  back  to  Butte,  gave  Mainwaring  a 
wildly  exaggerated  account  of  what  he  had 
heard,  vowed  he  could  bring  the  men  with 
him  next  trip,  and  Mainwaring,  already  sus 
picious,  had  ordered  Hunter's  arrest  accord 
ingly. 

The  fact  that  Hunter  could  not  have  been 
connected  with  the  robbery  was  pointed  out  to 
Mainwaring  as  they  sat  in  consultation,  Stan- 
nard,  Mainwaring,  Truscott,  and  Dana,  in  the 
adjutant's  office  that  night,  Blake  being  still  in 
limbo,  and  Ray  being  excluded  because  he 
had  resented  Mainwaring' s  refusal  to  allow 
him  an  interview  with  his  imprisoned  trooper. 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

It  was  pointed  out  that  Hunter's  enlistment  oc 
curred  some  time  previous  to  the  train-robbery, 
and  none  present  happened  to  think  of  the  fact 
that  he  had  asked  for  and  obtained  a  pass  the 
very  night  before  it  happened.  Then  Brady 
was  sent  for,  and  with  him  came  his  comrade, 
still  on  leave  from  Winthrop,  Mr.  Rawson. 

"You  hear  how  completely  Sergeant  Merri- 
weather's  ante-mortem  statement  has  cleared 
Hunter,  gentlemen,"  said  Stannard.  "Now  I 
suppose  you  are  satisfied." 

"As  to  that  point,  major,  yes,"  said  Mr. 
Rawson,  with  preternatural  sang-froid.  "  But 
I  understand  you  have  ordered  his  release,  and 
he  is  to  come  here  presently  for  his  exonera 
tion.  Is  that  so  ?" 

"Certainly,"  growled  Stannard.  "What 
of  it?" 

' '  Well,  first  I  would  ask  the  trooper  when 
he  comes  to  say  where  he  was  at  the  time  of 
the  robbery  of  the  train."  And  Rawson' s 
face  beamed  with  the  consciousness  of  calm 
conviction  of  an  erring  brother's  guilt. 

Stannard  nodded  brusquely.  ' '  Entirely  un 
necessary,  Mr.  Rawson,"  said  he:  "that  has 
already  been  settled.  He  has  witnesses  in 
plenty — three,  at  least,  here  at  the  post  or  in 
town — to  establish  where  he  was  at  that  very 
time.  He  spent  that  night  and  the  morning 
following  at  the  house  of  one  Murray,  a  car 
penter  in  Butte. ' ' 

222 


RAY    S    RECRUIT 

Brady  and  Rawson  exchanged  glances  in 
dicative  of  incredulity,  but  Rawson  then  went 
on  : 

"  In  justice  to  my  friend  Mr.  Brady  and  my 
self,  I  ask  that  he  be  required  then  to  bring 
with  him  the  silver-topped  flask  the  steward 
says  he  has  there  in  his  room  this  very  day, 
and  explain  where  he  was  the  morning  of  the 
train-robbery,  if  not  with  the  robbers." 

Stannard  snorted  derisively,  but  sent  the 
order  as  requested,  and  just  as  the  first  call 
was  sounding  for  tattoo,  Trooper  Hunter,  pal 
lid,  yet  calm  and  self-possessed,  and  decidedly 
prepossessing,  was  ushered  in  and  stood  pa 
tiently  at  attention. 

Stannard  looked  him  carefully  over,  and 
said,  "  Did  you  bring  that  flask  ?"  to  which  the 
soldier  calmly  replied, — 

"  I  did,  sir,  rather  unwillingly.'* 

"  Why  unwillingly  ?' ' 

"Because,"  and  here  a  quiet  smile  flickered 
over  his  face,  "it  is  hardly  a  part  of  a  private 
soldier's  equipment.  But  it  has  only  been  in 
my  possession  a  few  hours  since  my  joining  the 
regiment,  and  I've  not  had  time  to  send  it 
away." 

Then  Stannard  turned  in  his  chair  and  glared 
at  Brady  and  Rawson.  « '  Well,  what  do  you 
wish  to  ask  about  this  flask  ?' ' 

Rawson  rose  deliberately.  "  First,  that  it  be 
placed  here  on  the  table  where  all  can  see  it ; 
223 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

then,  that  I  maybe  permitted  to  read  this." 
And  he  unfolded  a  newspaper. 

Very  coolly  the  soldier  stepped  forward  and 
handed  the  handsome  toy  to  Stannard,  who 
gazed  admiringly  at  it  and  placed  it  in  the  full 
light  of  the  lamps  on  the  table  of  the  com 
manding  officer. 

Then,  clearing  his  throat,  the  lieutenant 
began  : 

"Among  the  passengers  arriving  in  this  city 
from  the  East  to-day  is  Lord  Lunemouth,  eldest 
son  and  heir  of  the  Earl  of  Lancaster.  Lord 
Lunemouth  is  travelling  for  his  health,  and  has 
been  advised  to  seek  the  glorious  climate  of 
California,  but  has  met  with  unpleasant  ex 
periences  on  the  way.  His  train  was  held  up 
by  desperadoes  in  Wyoming,  the  passengers 
were  robbed,  and  his  personal  losses  consisted 
of  some  two  hundred  dollars  in  cash,  a  superb 
watch,  and  a  handsome  silver-topped  flask,  the 
arms  of  his  noble  house  engraved  on  the  stop 
per.  The  latter  he  valued  as  a  keepsake. 
Here  follows,"  said  Mr.  Rawson,  "a  descrip 
tion  of  the  arms.  Here,"  said  he,  lifting  the 
flask,  "  are  the  arms  and  motto  of  the  house  of 
Lancaster ;  and  now  perhaps  this  gentleman, 
whom  I  perfectly  well  remember  seeing  in  very 
different  attire  aboard  the  Pacific  express  the 
night  of  the  collision,  will  explain  how  he  came 
into  possession  of  the  missing  flask  of  Lord 
Lunemouth  ?" 

224 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

Then  Mainwaring's  face  was  indeed  a  sight 
to  see,  but  the  amaze  deepened,  broadened, 
almost  overmastered  him,  when,  with  perfect 
composure,  the  strange  trooper  replied, — 

"With  pleasure;  though  this  is  not  Lord 
Lunemouth's,  but  the  mate  to  it.  It  was  given 
to  me  by  a  member  of  the  house  of  Lancaster 
months  ago.  At  the  time  of  the  train-robbery 
it  was  not  in  my  possession  at  all.  For  further 
information  on  that  head  I  must  refer  you  to 
Major  Mainwaring." 

"  House  of  Lancaster  be  blowed  !"  was  that 
veteran' s  explosive  reply.  * '  It  was  in  my 
house  right  here  at  Ransom  at  that  very  time. 
Say,  Rawson,  you  and  Brady  haven't  had  any 
more  sense  in  this  matter  than — I  have  !" 


*\ 

635     I 


15  225 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

REMARKABLE  winter,  from  a  cavalry 
point  of  view,  was  that ;  the  first  which 
the  old  regiment  spent  at  Ransom,  but, 
like  many  other  things  temporal  and  most  things 
military,  it  came  to  an  end,  and  people  looking 
back  upon  it  afterwards  declared  they  were 
rather  sorry,  after  all,  for  there  was  so  much  to 
make  it  vividly  interesting  at  the  time  and  to 
form  topics  for  talk  in  the  weeks  to  come. 

Sensations  flattened  out  lamentably  for  nearly 
a  fortnight  after  the  quashing  of  Main  waring' s 
martial  indictment  against  ' '  the  swell  of  the 
sorrel  troop,"  as  Blake  described  Hunter,  and 
when  they  reopened,  about  the  height  of  the 
holiday  season,  other  names  and  households 
than  those  herein  mentioned  were  mainly  con 
spicuous,  although  Blake  managed  to  mix  in 
more  than  one  of  them.  Between  him  and 
Mainwaring  was  patched  a  truce,  based  pri 
marily  on  the  latter' s  admission  that  he  had 
probably  made  a  mess  of  the  whole  business, 
but  really  couldn't  be  held  responsible  in  the 
face  of  such  testimony  as  was  offered  by  prom 
inent  officers  of  the  — th, — Messrs.  Brady  and 
Rawson.  Then  Blake  apologized  for  compar- 
226 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

ing  the  head  of  the  junior  major  to  the  wreck 
of  the  magazine,  and  peace  with  honor,  though 
not  without  difficulty,  was  established  so  far  as 
the  men  were  concerned.  It  was,  in  fact,  less 
difficult  than  in  the  case  of  the  women,  for 
Miss  Leroy  had,  it  seems,  a  very  pretty  will  of 
her  own,  that  Mrs.  Mainwaring  could  neither 
bend  nor  break.  Mrs.  Mainwaring  was  of  an 
old  and  distinguished  family,  and  so  was  Miss 
Leroy,  and  the  woman  Miss  Leroy  most  seri 
ously  affected  was  Mrs.  Blake,  nee  Bryan, 
daughter  of  a  rather  dissolute  old  ranchman 
once  well  known  about  Russell.  It  stung  Mrs. 
Mainwaring  that  her  niece  should  have,  as  she 
said  to  her  and  whispered  to  others,  so  little 
pride.  The  story  spread  in  the  regiment 
through  what  was  whispered,  not  through  what 
was  said,  and  Miss  Leroy,  already  popular, 
became  a  hot  favorite  forthwith. 

She  had  come  to  spend  the  winter,  but  as 
soon  as  the  holidays  were  over  and  her  precious 
post  children  had  had  their  Christmas-tree  and 
other  Christmas  joys — even  before  the  new  year 
was  fairly  ushered  in — she  returned  from  the 
morning  reading  one  day  and  found  Mrs.  Main- 
waring  impatiently  awaiting  her.  There  were 
invitations  for  dinners,  etc.,  extending  a  week, 
even  ten  days,  ahead,  and  Mrs.  Mainwaring 
wished  to  know  which  it  was  her  niece's  pleas 
ure  to  accept,  and  was  aghast  at  the  reply  :  any 
that  might  be  acceptable  to  aunty  up  to  Janu- 
227 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

ary  5th,  none  for  her  after  that  date,  as  she 
would  then  have  to  return  to  New  York. 

Remonstrance  proved  utterly  useless.  The 
second  week  in  January  saw  Miss  Leroy,  ac 
companied  to  the  station  by  most  of  the  ladies 
and  a  few  of  their  lords,  safely  aboard  the  East- 
bound  train,  with  old  783  and  Jimmy  Long  in 
the  lead.  There  were  dozens  of  the  children 
there  to  bid  her  good-by.  There  were  even 
a  number  of  enlisted  men,  with  whom  she 
warmly  shook  hands  before  she  took  her  seat 
in  the  roomy  Pullman.  Captain  and  Mrs. 
Blake,  her  devoted  friends,  went  with  her  as 
far  as  Omaha,  where  she  was  to  join  another 
party.  Mrs.  Mainwaring  fairly  dissolved  in 
tears  as  they  kissed  each  other  good-by  ;  for, 
after  all,  Kate  was  the  daughter  of  a  long-loved, 
long-lost  brother,  if  she  was  headstrong  and 
independent,  and  never  yet  had  woman  left 
the  dingy  precincts  of  old  Ransom  so  generally 
and  thoroughly  esteemed. 

But  every  one  wondered  for  all  that — even 
the  many  who  would  not  give  their  thought 
expression — whether  an  understanding  did  not 
exist,  whether  she  was  not  going  with  the  ex 
pectation  of  meeting  somewhere  the  remarka 
ble  recruit  by  the  name  of  Hunter,  for  Hunter 
had  left  on  a  month's  furlough  just  ten  days 
before. 

Mrs.  Mainwaring  declared  that  Kate's  sole 
reason  for  going  was  that  she  was  too  consci- 
228 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

entious.  She  found  her  health  restored  (no 
one  remembered  having  heard  of  it  as  im 
paired),  and  she  felt  she  must  return  to  her 
kindred  in  the  East  and  resume  her  interrupted 
duties  there.  But  Mrs.  Stannard  and  other 
wise  women  well  knew  that  the  main  reason 
for  her  going  was  that  life  with  Uncle  and 
Aunt  Mainwaring  was  not  as  peaceful  or  con 
genial,  despite  their  pride  in  and  affection  for 
her,  as  it  should  have  been. 

And  then  there  was  still  another  and  more 
vital  reason.  "  Everybody"  was  talking  about 
her  interest  in  Trooper  Hunter  and  his  un 
doubted  admiration  for  her.  But  Hunter  had 
had  to  go  back  to  duty  with  his  troop,  had  met 
Miss  Leroy  only  on  the  long  afternoons  and 
evenings  when  he,  with  two  or  three  other  blue 
jackets,  worked  at  the  festooning  and  dec 
orating,  under  her  active  supervision,  of  the 
post  assembly  hall.  Then  he  had  had  an  in 
terview  with  Ray,  his  captain,  that  brought 
matters  to  a  climax.  He  applied  for  and  re 
ceived  his  furlough  in  the  midst  of  the  holi 
days, — left  his  kit  with  the  first  sergeant,  his 
uniform  with  Murray,  the  carpenter,  and  Butte 
in  a  snow-storm,  the  Pullman  smoker,  and 
familiar-looking  tweeds,  travelling-cap,  and  ul 
ster,  at  which  Jim  Long  stared  in  astonished 
recognition  when,  as  he  alighted  from  his  cab 
at  the  Junction,  a  swell  civilian  stepped  up  and 
smilingly  tendered  him  a  cigar. 
229 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

Whatever  clouds  had  lowered  over  the  house 
of  Hunter  were  wafted  away  the  night  of  that 
decisive  conference  of  the  powers,  when  Stan- 
nard  and  Truscott  demolished  the  theories  of 
Mainwaring  and  the  aspersions  of  Brady  & 
Company.  Even  Conway  had  limped  out  of 
his  buggy  a  few  days  later  to  say  he,  too,  had 
been  fooled.  (He  was  destined  to  be  fooled 
still  more  when  a  jail-delivery  turned  loose  his 
seven  star  performers  on  Christmas  Eve.)  Cor 
poral  Croxford  and  Trooper  Elzey  still  main 
tained  their  conviction  of  Hunter's  guilt,  until 
Mrs.  Merriweather  weakened  over  her  hus 
band's  death  and  confirmed  his  whole  con 
fession.  The  Kid  was  enjoying  a  temporary 
relapse  into  virtue,  and  was  wearing  a  halo 
until  pay-day.  Mrs.  Merriweather,  bailed  out 
by  Freeman,  was  living  in  temporary  retire 
ment  in  Butte,  yet  already  beginning  to  "take 
notice,"  and  all  Ransom  was  wondering  what 
Trooper  Hunter  had  gone  on  thirty  days'  fur 
lough  for,  and  betting  two  to  one  that  he 
never  would  come  back,  when  he  suddenly 
came. 

He  had  been  gone  but  twenty  of  the  thirty 
days.  He  reported  in  person  in  the  nattiest 
of  fatigue  uniforms  to  Captain  Ray  just  before 
stable-call  one  sharp,  clear  January  afternoon, 
and  in  a  brief  conversation  asked  of  his  cap 
tain  that  he  would  send  to  Miss  Leroy  a  little 
package  he  had  brought  with  him  from  the 
230 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

East,  and  was  manifestly  disappointed  when 
told  that  she  had  gone. 

Then  they  probably  had  not  met  at  all,  and 
Ransom  was  off  the  scent  again. 

Just  what  might  have  been  the  result  of  this 
disappointment  had  matters  remained  in  the 
usual  midwinter  plane  of  monotony,  cannot  be 
stated.  What  did  happen  was  a  sudden  call 
from  the  department  commander,  a  sudden 
demand  for  a  strong  escort  to  accompany  him 
to  the  Hills,  despite  the  biting  weather,  for 
sacred  Indian  lands  were  being  invaded,  and 
only  his  presence  could  prevail  upon  the  Sioux 
to  trust  the  matter  of  righting  the  wrong  to  him 
and  Uncle  Sam.  Him  they  trusted  readily 
enough,  but  shook  their  shaggy  heads  at  men 
tion  of  the  Great  Father.  «'  Let  the  Gray  Fox 
leave  enough  soldiers  here  to  drive  away  the 
would-be  miners  and  prospectors,  and  they 
would  keep  the  peace."  And  so  it  was  or 
dered.  March  and  April  saw  the  swell  trooper 
deeply  interested  now,  despite  longings  for 
news  from  civilization,  in  daily  contact  with 
and  study  of  these  warlike  people,  learning 
their  uncouth  language,  buying  their  furs  and 
bead-work,  winning  their  good  will  by  unex 
pected  gifts  and  straightforward  dealing.  May 
came,  and  trouble.  Congress  was  too  busy 
with  other  matters  to  heed  the  request  of  the 
President  that  the  recommendations  of  the 
general  commanding  the  department  of  the 
231 


RAY    S   RECRUIT 

frontier  be  immediately  carried  out.  The 
horned  cattle  and  other  supplies  failed  to  ar 
rive.  The  Indians  said,  "Sold  again,"  and 
scalped  an  attache  of  the  nearest  agency  as  a 
hint  of  what  might  happen  to  the  agent  him 
self  if  he  didn't  expedite  those  supplies.  Mid- 
May  failed  to  bring  the  goods,  but  it  brought 
the  grass,  and  that  was  enough.  Storm-signals 
had  been  set  for  a  fortnight,  yet  the  tornado 
burst  with  sudden  and  shocking  force.  Five 
hundred  warriors  swooped  suddenly  into  the 
lower  valley  of  the  Ska.  Out  went  every 
available  man  from  Ransom,  Rossiter,  and 
Winthrop,  and  there  was  war  to  the  knife  ere 
the  Gray  Fox  could  interpose. 

A  "dandy"  battalion  was  that  with  which 
Mainwaring  danced  away  that  sweet  May  morn 
ing,  men  and  horses  the  pictures  of  health  and 
high  condition  and  eager  for  the  field  and 
the  fray.  Stannard  with  his  four  troops  had 
marched  eastward  for  the  lower  valley,  but 
Mainwaring  was  to  hasten  to  the  Hills,  gather 
up  the  little  force  still  in  stockade  at  the  nearest 
agency,  then  sweep  on  down  to  join  the  others. 
The  telegraph  line  was  repaired  to  Crested 
Butte,  where  the  mutiny  began,  and  there  came 
this  startling  message  just  in  time  to  meet 
them : 

"  Sioux  agency  reports  that  Lord  Lunemouth 
and  party  of  friends,  twelve  in  all,  including 
guides,  passed  up  the  Ska  en  route  to  the 
232 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

northern  hills  two  days  before  the  outbreak. 
Use  all  means  in  your  power  to  find  and 
protect  them.  Acknowledge  receipt  and  report 
action.' 

It  was  forwarded  to  Mainwaring  by  Ather- 
ton,  who  said  he  was  coming  post-haste  to 
take  command  in  person  in  that  part  of  the 
field  ;  meantime  to  lose  not  a  moment,  but  do 
his  best.  As  usual,  the  call  went  out  for  Ray. 

Two  days  later,  away  up  among  the  pine- 
crested  heights,  hot  on  the  trail  of  a  big  war- 
party  of  Indians  the  sorrel  troop  was  pushing. 
Mainwaring,  with  the  three  remaining  compa 
nies,  was  trotting  down  into  the  valley  of  the 
North  Fork  to  intercept  and  beat  back  further 
parties  should  they  be  tempted  to  follow  their 
friends  in  the  search  for  the  unsuspecting  tour 
ists.  Atherton,  with  the  Winthrop  battalion  at 
his  heels,  was  coming  across  country  to  the 
support  of  Mainwaring,  while  old  Stannard,  on 
familiar  ground,  was  rounding  up  stragglers 
down  the  Ska,  herding  them  back  to  the 
agency,  and  eagerly  watching  for  the  coming 
of  the  troops  from  Rossiter  and  the  big  posts 
away  to  the  north.  Then  the  Indians  would  be 
hemmed  in. 

But  meantime  what  damage  might  they  not 
do  !  There  were  no  railways  then  save  the 
few  trunk  lines,  no  means,  except  by  march 
ing,  to  reach  the  fabled  Indian  lands,  and  Lo 
was  in  his  glory.  Warned  of  their  peril,  set- 
233 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

tiers,  herders,  and  stockmen  had  taken  to  flight 
and  abandoned  the  lower  valley,  so  the  Indian 
was  riding,  proud  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed, 
over  the  broad  waste  of  the  low  lands,  burn 
ing,  pillaging,  and  raising,  as  the  newspaper 
men  first  on  the  scene  expressed  it,  "  no  scalps, 
but  much  hell."  If  only  good  news  could  be 
heard  of  those  tourists,  all  might  yet  be  well. 

But  what  mad-brained  trick  could  have 
prompted  so  hazardous  a  picnic  ?  The  agent 
at  Brule  Springs  swore  he  had  done  his  best  to 
dissuade  them,  but  there  were  three  English 
men  who  had  never  seen  elk  and  were  pos 
sessed  with  longing  to  stalk  and  shoot  them. 
They  were  lavish  with  their  money.  Their  in 
terpreters  talked  directly  to  some  of  the  old 
chiefs,  Thunder  Eagle  and  Rolling  Bear  es 
pecially,  and  the  presents  made  these  warriors 
caused  the  Sioux  to  clamor  for  more,  but  won 
a  lordly  permit  from  the  crafty  leaders  to  go 
shoot  what  they  would, — the  Sioux  wouldn't 
care, — and  so  led  them  squarely  into  the  trap. 
Ray  had  found  the  debris  of  one  of  their  camps 
towards  noon  of  the  second  day  of  his  daring 
march,  and  four  hours  later  as  he  sped  along 
their  northward  winding  trail  he  came  suddenly 
upon  a  deep  cleft  among  the  hills,  away  down 
in  whose  depths  trickled  an  ice-cold  rivulet 
where  the  tourists  had  drunk  their  fill,  then 
gone  on  up  the  opposite  heights,  and  after 
them,  swift  pursuing,  a  formidable  war-party 
234 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

that  had  evidently  come  up  this  tributary  to 
the  Ska  hoping  here  to  find  and  intercept  their 
prey. 

Men  and  horses  of  Ray's  troop  both  were 
weary.  They  drank  eagerly,  and  some  eyes, 
already  haggard,  looked  appealingly  at  the  set 
face  of  their  captain.  Forty-eight  hours  had 
they  come  with  but  scant  halt  for  rest,  and 
there  was  hardly  a  man  in  the  party  that  could 
not  have  slept  instantly  had  he  lain  down  on 
that  soft,  inviting  turf, — all,  perhaps,  but  the 
indomitable  leader  and  the  tall  trooper  origi 
nally  of  the  centre  set  of  fours,  yet  so  often  on 
this  second  day  riding  side  by  side  with,  in 
stead  of  following  six  yards  behind,  his  com 
mander,  the  place  where  the  orderly  is  sup 
posed  to  be.  Scott,  the  young  lieutenant,  who 
should  perhaps  have  taken  exception  to  such 
favoritism,  seemed  to  understand  and  object 
not  at  all.  "  Hunter  was  up  through  here  last 
month  with  surveyor's  escort,"  was  the  expla 
nation,  and,  though  some  men  might  have 
growled  the  information  that  ' '  other  fellers 
were  along  too,"  no  one  seemed  to  object,  for 
the  reason  that  it  was  thoroughly  known  that 
Hunter  made  topographical  notes  from  day  to 
day  and  had  them  with  him  now,  and  it  was 
these  to  which  Ray  so  frequently  referred  as 
they  hastened  on. 

Plainly  enough  had  the  captain  seen  the 
symptoms  of  growing  exhaustion  on  both  his 
235 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

men  and  mounts, — the  dark  lines  under  the 
deep-set  eyes,  the  utter  silence  that  prevailed 
along  the  dusty  little  company,  the  painful 
stumbling  of  the  horses,  and  the  constant 
effort  needed  to  keep  closed  on  the  head  of 
column.  But  he  knew  his  men,  and  they  knew 
him.  It  was  not  the  first  by  many  times  they 
had  been  called  upon  to  ride  with  life  or  death 
the  stake.  Somewhere,  not  three  hours  ahead, 
probably,  was  a  murderous  band  of  Sioux  seek 
ing  to  redress  undoubted  injuries  by  the  only 
method  the  Indian  knows, — the  blood  of  the 
pale-faced  brothers  of  those  that  had  wrought 
the  wrong.  That  these  tourists  had  bought 
the  consent  of  their  chief  to  hunt,  camp,  and 
explore  through  the  Indian  lands,  that  they 
were  innocent  of  wrong-doing,  that  they  de 
spised  the  robbers  of  the  red  man  as  much  as 
the  Indian  hated  him,  had  no  bearing  on  the 
case.  These  were  white  men  rashly  intrud 
ing  far  within  the  Brule  lines  at  a  time  when 
the  Great  Spirit,  through  their  medicine-men, 
had  sounded  the  call  to  battle,  and  high  or 
low,  rich  or  poor,  English  or  American,  man, 
woman,  or  child,  it  made  no  difference.  That 
fated  party  represented  just  so  many  coveted 
scalps,  no  more  and  no  less,  and  if  Indian 
strategy  could  compass  their  capture  alive  or 
their  destruction  without  the  spilling  of  a  drop 
of  Indian  blood,  all  the  more  would  their  war 
rior  band  receive  the  acclamations  of  a  tribe 
236 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

that  worshipped  prowess  like  unto  that  of  thfe 
prairie  wolf  or  fleet-footed  fox.  Ninety  strong, 
led  by  a  daring  young  chief  whose  father  and 
mother  both  had  died  when  the  soldiers  of  the 
Long  Hair  dashed  upon  their  village  some 
years  before,  they  had  cut  loose  from  all  bands 
around  the  Ska,  and  hastened  in  search  of  the 
white  invaders  guaranteed  by  old  Rolling  Bear 
safe-conduct  not  a  week  before. 

And  unerringly  their  instinct  led  them  to  the 
lovely  park  country  on  the  north  side  of  the 
hills,  for  there  was  noble  game  in  profusion. 
Thither  must  the  lordly  whites  have  gone,  rich 
in  horses,  arms,  stores,  and  provisions  of  every 
kind,  and  for  months  the  Sioux  were  starving. 

It  was  the  sight  of  the  fresh  hoof-prints  of 
fourscore  ponies  that  settled  all  question  of  rest 
at  the  rivulet  in  the  mind  of  Captain  Ray. 
"  Men,"  said  he,  "  I  hate  to  wear  you  out,  but 
before  another  sunrise  we  must  circumvent 
these  fellows,  or  it's  all  up  with  the  tourists." 

There  were  Irish  troopers  in  the  leading 
four  who  loved  to  talk  of  the  Clan-na-Gael  and 
Home  Rule  for  Erin  and  death  to  "  England's 
cruel  red"  when  time  hung  heavy  on  their 
hands  in  camp  or  barrack.  But  that  seemed 
all  forgotten  now.  Like  the  famous  Mavericks, 
they  only  talked  of  mutiny  when  no  other  fight 
ing  was  to  be  done.  Only  the  horses  seemed 
to  groan  at  the  command  to  mount,  and  once 
more  on  went  the  Sorrels  au  secours. 
237 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

An  hour  after  nightfall,  in  the  bright  light  of 
the  climbing  moon,  they  had  splashed  through 
another  shallow,  foaming  stream  in  another 
and  narrower  rift  among  the  hills,  two  veteran 
sergeants,  with  Ray  and  Hunter,  well  out  in 
front,  when  just  as  the  foremost,  a  shadowy 
form,  rode  warily  to  a  little  point  of  bluff  three 
hundred  yards  ahead,  Ray's  gauntleted  hand 
swung  high  his  scouting  hat  in  air,  as  half 
turning  in  saddle  he  signalled  "  Halt !"  for  the 
leading  rider  was  gesticulating  wildly,  and  Ser 
geant  Conners  came  galloping  back. 

"Treed  'em,  by  God,  sir!"  he  cried,  in  ex 
citement  irrepressible.  "  They've  stopped  for 
a  scalp-dance.  You  can  hear  'em  plain." 

Yes,  faint,  but  distinct,  beating  quicker  every 
minute,  the  weird  throb  of  the  war-drum  could 
be  heard,  and  with  it  the  shrill  whoop  and  yell 
of  excited  dancers. 

"Then  you're  right,  Hunter,"  promptly 
spoke  the  captain.  "That  can  mean  only 
one  thing.  They've  located  the  party  over  in 
Keogh's  Park,  just  where  you  said  they'd  pitch 
their  camp,  and  these  beggars  mean  to  jump 
them  at  dawn.  We'll  show  'em  a  trick  worth 
ten  of  that,  won't  we,  Dixie?"  he  continued, 
patting  the  neck  of  the  game  little  sorrel  he 
rode.  "What  blessed  luck  that  they  should 
stop  to  celebrate  !" 

Slowly,  cautiously,  the  shadowy  troop  led 
forward  to  a  grove  of  pines  not  far  from  the 
238 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

water's  edge,  and  close  to  the  sheltering  bluff 
beyond  which  the  warriors  were  having  their 
jollification.  There  they  waited,  breathless, 
the  sound  of  revelry  gaining  every  minute  on 
the  night.  Taking  Conners  and  Hunter  with 
him,  Ray  crept  forward  to  reconnoitre, — he 
and  his  sergeant  veterans  in  the  craft,  Hun 
ter  a  novice,  whose  heart  beat  wildly,  but  who 
never  faltered. 

Fast  and  furious  drove  the  dance.  Loud  and 
shrill  arose  the  whoops  and  war-cries,  dying 
away  at  times  like  the  yelp  of  prairie  wolves  to 
faint  and  distant  gurgling,  then  swelling  again 
like  the  chorus  of  hounds  in  full  view  of  the 
quarry.  Drum,  rattle,  and  piercing  whistle 
added  to  the  clamor,  echoed  back  from  the 
dark,  pine-crested  cliffs  that  overhung  this  wild 
nook  in  the  hills.  Fresh  fagots  heaped  upon 
the  fire  threw  the  dusky,  writhing  forms,  re 
splendent  in  war-bonnet  and  savage  finery, 
into  bold  relief,  and  Ray's  brave  heart  almost 
sank  within  him  as  he  counted.  Ponies  they 
could  not  see,  for  they  were  herded  farther  up 
the  cove  beyond  the  fire,  but  every  indication 
pointed  to  there  being  well-nigh  a  hundred 
well-armed  warriors  right  there  within  revolver- 
shot,  while  others,  doubtless,  hovered  like 
watchful  spies  about  the  unsuspecting  camp 
beyond  the  range. 

' '  We  could  never  get  past  them  without 
discovery,"  muttered  the  captain,  finally. 
239 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

"We're  far  too  few  to  drive  them.  How  far 
is  it  back  down  the  valley  and  around  to  the 
park?" 

' '  Not  less  than  forty  miles,  sir, ' '  answered 
Hunter,  "though  it  can't  be  more  than  six 
or  seven  over  the  old  game  trail  across  the 
range. ' ' 

"Then,"  said  Ray,  "there's  nothing  for  it 
but  to  send  a  brace  of  men  up  the  heights 
afoot  to  warn  the  camp  before  daybreak,  while 
the  troop  hangs  on  to  their  heels." 

It  was  barely  nine  o'clock  now,  and  high 
aloft  on  the  northern  side  of  the  gorge,  glisten 
ing  white,  the  cliffs  broke  through  the  sombre 
fringe  of  pine  and  shone  like  silver  in  the 
moonlight.  Somewhere  ahead  of  the  watchers 
in  the  black  depths  of  the  westward  end  of  the 
deep  ravine  an  old  game  trail  wound  and 
twisted  up  the  mountain  side  over  into  the 
beautiful  park  beyond.  Hunter  well  remem 
bered  and  had  traced  it  in  his  notes.  Over 
this  trail  Lord  Lunemouth's  joyous  party  had 
evidently  gone.  Over  this  the  Indian  scouts  had 
tracked  him.  Over  this  the  war-party  doubt 
less  meant  to  follow  in  time  to  make  their  dash 
at  daybreak.  Over  this,  neck  or  nothing,  warn 
ing  must  be  sent,  and  the  intermediate  ground 
was  so  completely  occupied  by  the  Indians  that 
cavalry  could  not  hope  to  slip  by  undetected. 
It  could  only  be  attempted  by  daring  fellows 
afoot. 

240 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 


And  the  first  man  to  speak  out  when,  in  few 
words,  Ray  explained  the  situation  to  the  troop, 
was  that  incorrigible  rascal,  the  Kid.  "I'm 
game  to  go,  sir.  * ' 

' '  Good  for  one, ' '  said  Ray. 

"  Here's  another,  sir,"  "And  here,"  "And 
here,"  came  in  low  tone  from  half  a  dozen  in 
the  wearied  troop  ;  but  Ray  waited  for  still  an 
other  voice,  until,  half  turning,  he  looked  as 
though  inquiringly  at  Hunter,  who  had  already 
kicked  off  his  boots  and  was  pulling  on  a  pair 
of  moccasins,  drawn  from  his  saddle-bags. 
Then  Hunter  looked  up  and  spoke. 

"I,  of  course,  sir.  I'm  the  only  man  that 
knows  the  way."  Whereat  Ray's  white  teeth 
gleamed  in  the  moonlight,  and  the  men  knew 
all  was  well. 

Three  hours  later  a  strangely  assorted  pair, 
a  tall,  slender,  blond-bearded  man,  with  clear- 
cut,  handsome  features,  and  an  undersized, 
weazen-faced,  devil-may-care  Irish  lad,  dressed 
alike  in  dark-blue  shirts  and  blouses,  in  light- 
blue  riding-breeches  and  Indian-tanned  leg 
gings,  girt  with  cartridge-belt  and  revolver, 
and  carrying  the  brown  carbine  in  hand,  halted 
for  breath  at  the  very  summit  of  the  divide 
between  Keogh's  Park  and  the  deep  gorge  in 
the  southeastward  hills.  Perilous,  indeed,  had 
been  their  journey.  Leaving  their  comrades 
well  below  the  position  of  the  Indian  camp, 
they  had  slowly  scaled  the  cliffs  to  the  north, 
16  241 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

then  crept  along  among  the  pines  until  imme 
diately  above  the  rejoicing  Indians,  and  then 
slowly  and  cautiously  through  the  scattered 
timber,  followed  westward  by  the  stars  until 
at  last  in  a  depression  they  came  upon  the 
trail,  easily  recognizable  in  the  occasional 
patches  of  moonlight.  Then,  eager  and  cau 
tious,  they  followed  up,  up  the  winding  way, 
ever  alert  for  sound  of  hoof-beat,  until  at  last 
they  reached  the  crest  and  Hunter' s  watch  pro 
claimed  it  midnight. 

From  a  rocky  point  they  could  see  outspread 
beneath  them  to  the  northward  a  beautiful  park 
country,  faintly  pictured  in  the  silvery  light, 
and,  laying  a  hand  on  his  companion's  sleeve, 
Hunter  pointed  afar  down  to  their  left  front. 

"  The  springs  lie  just  south  of  that  high 
butte,"  he  murmured,  "and  there  we'll  find 
their  camp,  if  only  we  can  dodge  the  Indian 
watchers  on  the  way." 

Ay,  there  was  the  rub,  and  there  was  no 
time  to  lose.  Ever  watchful,  as  before,  they 
began  the  gradual  descent,  peering  from  tree 
to  tree,  flitting  like  shadows  from  rock  to  rock, 
until  at  last  they  reached  the  lower  limit  of  the 
timber-line,  and  there  before  them  lay  an 
almost  open  valley,  two  miles  wide,  destitute 
of  "  cover"  except  along  the  stream  that  nearly 
equally  divided  it,  and  up  that  stream,  perhaps 
two  miles,  some  white  objects  gleamed  in  the 
moonlight  near  a  clump  of  trees,  and  there  at 
242 


RAY  S    RECRUIT 

Keogh's  Springs,  just  as  Hunter  had  predicted, 
lay  the  threatened  camp. 

But  how  were  they  to  reach  it  unobserved  ? 
for  here  and  everywhere  the  Kid  could  point 
out  fresh  pony-tracks,  and  even  as  they  paused 
at  the  belt  of  pines,  away  out  on  the  slopes  be 
yond,  hidden  from  camp  by  intervening  rises 
in  the  ground,  dark  forms  of  horsemen,  three 
or  four,  were  plainly  visible,  and  the  Kid  could 
tell  from  old  experience  that  nothing  living 
would  escape  those  watchers'  eyes. 

But  up  the  slope  the  trees  were  thicker,  and 
again,  though  wearily,  they  sought  their  shel 
ter,  and  slowly  crawled  from  clump  to  clump 
until  towards  three  o'clock  they  were  nearly 
opposite  the  sleeping  camp,  lying  out  there  in 
a  lovely  glade,  barely  long  rifle-shot  away. 

Twice,  thrice  they  had  seen  an  Indian  on 
nimble  pony,  moving  cautiously  about,  well 
out  of  sight  of  camp.  Time  and  again  the 
coyotes  yelped  and  loud-mouth  challenge  was 
bayed  by  suspicious  watch-dogs  near  the  tents, 
but  still  the  Saxons  slept  all  innocent  of  danger, 
and  time  was  getting  fearfully  short. 

"  What's  to  hinder  our  crawling  out  as  far 
as  we  can  go?  then,  if  we're  seen,  shoot  the 
sucker  that  tries  to  stop  us,  and  run  for  it," 
muttered  the  Irishman.  "  It's  the  only  chance 
I  see." 

The  moon  was  well  over  to  the  west,  but 
still  so  high  her  light  betrayed  every  moving 
243 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

object  in  the  open  ground ;  but,  as  the  Kid 
explained,  there  seemed  to  be  no  other  way. 
Down  went  the  two  flat  upon  their  stomachs, 
and  the  slow,  tortuous  process  began.  Before 
they  had  made  a  hundred  yards  Celtic  patience 
gave  out.  "Damned  if  I  can  stand  this," 
said  the  Irishman.  "  There's  not  an  Indian 
in  sight  now.  Come  on.  Let's  run  for  it." 

Suiting  action  to  the  word,  the  little  sinner 
was  on  his  feet,  and  in  another  minute  skim 
ming  away  like  a  racer  to  the  goal. 

And  then  as  Hunter  started  to  follow  he  saw 
a  sight  that  made  him  thrill  with  dread.  As 
though  they  sprang  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  two  Indians  on  swift  ponies  darted  into 
view,  and  bending  low  over  their  chargers' 
necks,  lashing  them  to  mad  gallop,  they  fairly 
shot  across  the  resounding,  turf-clad  prairie, 
swift  and  straight  towards  the  scudding  form. 

"  Look  out,  Kid  !  Look  out !"  rang  Hun 
ter's  voice  in  a  yell  that  woke  the  valley. 
Bang  !  went  the  Paddy's  ready  carbine  in  re 
ply.  Dogs,  coyotes,  carbines,  rifles,  Indian 
yells,  and  Saxon  blasphemy  burst  upon  the 
silence  of  the  night.  An  Indian  pony  plunged 
and  tossed  his  rider  sprawling  within  a  dozen 
yards  of  where  the  Kid  had  turned  at  bay,  and 
Hunter,  rushing  to  the  rescue,  had  just  time  to 
kneel,  when  two  or  three  revolvers  seemed  to 
crack  at  once,  and  the  air  was  rent  with  fire- 
flashes.  But  the  soldier's  aim  was  true,  and 
244 


Hunter  knelt,  and  sent  shot  after  shot  at  every  flitting 
form  he  saw. 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

one  tall  warrior  toppled  heavily  forward  and  bit 
the  dust  as  Hunter  sped  on  to  his  comrade's 
aid.  He  found  him  clasping  his  hands  about 
his  knee  and  rolling  in  agony  on  the  turf. 

"For  the  love  of  God,  don't  stop!"  cried 
he.  "They've  smashed  my  leg,  and  I'm  done 
for.  There's  a  dozen  to  one  of  us."  Dozen 
or  not,  they  were  in  for  it  now.  Hunter  knelt, 
and,  though  his  heart  beat  hard,  sent  shot 
after  shot  at  every  flitting  form  he  saw,  until, 
amazed  at  the  vigorous  defence,  the  Indians 
seemed  to  haul  away.  Then  up  he  lifted  the 
protesting  Kid  and  lugged  him  full  another  hun 
dred  yards  before  again  he  had  to  drop  him 
and  fight.  Then  once  more,  half  lifting,  half 
dragging,  he  rushed  him  on,  cheered  by  the 
evidence  that  the  Indians  dared  not  come  too 
close  and  that  camp  was  aroused  and  blazing 
away.  Luckily,  the  guides  had  quickly  realized 
what  was  up.  Luckily,  they  reasoned  that 
there  could  be  but  few  Indians  in  the  immedi 
ate  neighborhood,  for  out  they  came — three  or 
four — to  the  succor  of  the  burdened  man,  and 
reached  him  only  as,  exhausted  by  his  efforts 
and  by  loss  of  blood  from  a  wound  hardly  no 
ticed  when  received,  he  sank,  fainting,  to  the 
ground,  the  Kid  still  pluckily  swearing  in  his 
arms. 

And  so,  an  hour  later,  when  the  Indians 
swooped  in  force  upon  the  camp  they  found  it 
thoroughly  prepared,  surrounded  by  hastily  con- 
245 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

structed  rifle-pits  or  breast-works,  around  which, 
five  hundred  yards  away,  they  dashed  and 
yelled  and  kept  up  their  wild  fusillade,  but  both 
times  they  strove  to  charge  three  or  four  saddles 
were  emptied  by  the  cool  aim  of  the  defence,  and 
then,  to  cap  the  climax  of  their  discomfiture, 
out  from  the  foot-hills  burst  their  old  acquaint 
ance  the  sorrel  troop,  "Laughing  Lightning," 
as  once  the  Cheyennes  had  named  Ray,  cheer 
ing  in  the  lead.  And  the  warriors  broke  for 
cover,  and  kept  in  cover  at  respectful  distance 
until  Mainwaring  himself,  a  whole  day  later, 
with  his  three  comrade  troops,  came  trotting  up 
the  valley,  and  then  they  disappeared  entirely. 

But  meantime  there  had  been  a  meeting  and 
recognition  little  looked  for.  Four  happier 
Englishmen  were  never  seen  than  Lunemouth 
and  the  trio  with  him,  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  for  a  time  their  lives  had  been  in  mortal 
peril  and  they  had  enjoyed  the  unlooked-for  lux 
ury  of  a  square  fight.  That  exultation  over,  they 
had  had  time  to  thank  the  American  "Tom 
mies'  '  to  whose  daring  they  owed  it  that  they 
were  not  massacred  in  their  beds.  Both  troop 
ers  were  wounded,  the  little  fellow  profanely 
voluble,  the  tall  one  strangely  silent.  Over  this 
latter  bent  the  younger  of  the  first  two  English 
men. 

' '  You  are  not  much  hurt,  I  hope,  my  good 

fellow?      You're Good  God !      You?-— 

Gray  ?     I  vow  I  heard  you  were  dead.' ' 
246 


RAY   S   RECRUIT 

A  faint  smile  flitted  about  the  bearded  face, 
and  the  prostrate  soldier  winced  as  he  answered  : 
"And  you,  Rokeby,  I  heard  you  were  mar 
ried.  ' ' 

Even  when  Mainwaring  came,  it  was  useless 
to  resume  trooper  relations,  for  he  found  Hun 
ter  installed  in  the  best  cot  the  tourists  owned, 
the  Kid,  too,  in  clover,  despite  the  pain  of  his 
wound.  The  doctor  said  Hunter' s  hurt  would 
not  soon  heal,  and  Lord  Lunemouth  vowed  that 
both  were  his  guests  until  they  could  be  safely 
moved,  and  rather  plainly  intimated  to  the 
major  that  he  considered  one  particular  private, 
at  least,  of  more  account  than  the  battalion 
commander,  which  was  subversive  of  good  or 
der  and  military  discipline.  Then  of  course 
Mainwaring  had  to  hear  the  truth,  already 
known  to  Ray  and  rumored  throughout  the 
Sorrels,  that  their  swell  comrade  was  even  an 
older  friend  of  these  swells  from  abroad. 

"Then  where  in  thunder  was  it  I  met  you 
before  ?' '  growled  Mainwaring,  in  distinct  sense 
of  personal  injury,  as  he  looked  down  into  the 
placidly  smiling  face  of  the  wounded  trooper, 
and  Blake  nearly  exploded  with  delight  over 
the  cool  response : 

' '  At  the  armory  of  my  old  regiment,  when 
the  major  was  on  recruiting  service  in  New 
York  City.  I  had  the  honor  of  being  on  the 
reception  committee  the  night  of  our  ball." 

"Good  God  !"  said  Mainwaring  ;  "and  yet 
247 


RAY   S    RECRUIT 

you  look  just  like  a  fellow  that  deserted  from 
the  Dragoons." 

No,  Hunter  didn't  rise  to  a  commission. 
There  was  talk  about  it,  but  he  had  acquired 
other  views.  He  is  said  to  have  remarked  that 
the  "N.G.N.Y.  would  suffice  in  the  future." 
His  wounds  proved  painful ;  an  honorable  dis 
charge  was  asked  for  and  granted,  and  there 
was  a  big  time  at  the  agency  when  he  and  the 
Kid  bade  good-bye  to  their  comrades  and  were 
taken  back  to  Ransom  in  an  ambulance,  the 
Kid  "rich  beyond  the  dreams  of  avarice"  with 
the  largesse  of  Lancaster,  and  Gray  parted  with 
only  after  his  promise  to  spend  a  month  at  the 
ancestral  seat  that  very  year. 

Later  Hunter  went  East.  The  Blakes  and 
Rays  heard  from  him  frequently  for  several 
weeks.  He  was  once  more  under  his  uncle's 
roof,  once  more  in  daily  company  with  the  be 
reaved  widower,  now  restored  to  partial  health 
and  unexpected  fortune  since  the  tragic  death 
of  his  wife  ;  but  when  the  hope  of  the  house 
of  Lancaster  went  back  to  England,  Lune- 
mouth'  s  lung  in  surprising  working  order,  Gray, 
who  might  have  gone,  declined.  The  Lang- 
dons  were  still  abroad  somewhere,  and  Amy 
wore  no  coronet.  It  had  somehow  dawned  on 
Rokeby  that  that  coronet  was  an  indispensable 
adjunct  to  the  engagement,  and  the  glorious 
climate  of  California  had  played  havoc  with 
248 


RAY'S  RECRUIT 

Amy's  expectations.  There  was  some  society 
talk  of  Gray's  going  in  search  of  that  lovely 
but  disappointed  damsel,  and,  "No  doubt," 
said  he  to  a  serious-faced,  beautiful-eyed  young 
woman,  with  whom  he  was  found  limping  along 
the  sands  one  August  evening  at  the  sea-shore, 
"  no  doubt  I  should  have  gone  and  been  re 
fused  again,  but  for  just  one  thing." 

"And  what  was  that,  pray?"  asked  Miss 
Leroy,  a  quiver  about  her  lips  despite  her 
nonchalance  of  manner,  for  he  had  been  her 
shadow  since  he  came. 

• '  This, ' '  said  he,  taking  from  an  inner  pocket 
a  worn  little  glove  of  undressed  kid.  "  It  was 
dropped  by  my  bedside  when  I  lay  in  hospital 
at  Ransom.  I  have  been  looking,  longing,  for 
the  hand  that  lost  it,  ever  since." 


THE  END. 


249 


King,  C, 


iy»  s  rec 


RUF 


K522 
ray 


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